I have taken down what is one of my most popular posts; because it’s not the direction I want to go with this blog.
Interacting with Ric Starnes, the inspiration for the post, reminded me of dealing with the rabid, flesh-eating zombies from the movie 28 Days Later - spreading hate and vitriol while adding nothing to the good of anyone else. I’ve been in more than a dozen meetings with Ric and I’ve never seen him bring any add to the conversation - he just spreads hate and discontent; and is incapable of having a real conversation. He just yells, yells, yells, and never says anything. It’s sad to think that I’ve walked the earth a little more than half as long as he has and left that kind of behavior years ago.
That being said, Ric Starnes will no longer comment on the Cheap Seats and I won’t reference his site. I have deleted all of the comments from him and those that referred to them. He will be ignored like the last local troll I dealt with. Whatever he says on his crappy little site (that will no longer get an inbound link from this site) will be of little consequence to me save for entertainment.
And now, for the apology: I apologize to you the reader for getting drawn into complete “jackassary” and not properly presiding over a spirited and informative discussion on local issues. It was really good for traffic; but this site has never been about traffic - it’s been about making a difference. I was not proud of the conversation and I want to ask your forgiveness for wasting the most important commodity that any human can share with another - their time and attention.
I’m not perfect and I will continue to make mistakes; but I will learn from them. This won’t be the first time I’ll call on a little grace from y’all.
I’ll see y’all on the 26th.
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16 responses so far ↓
1 Thierry Wernaers // Nov 18, 2007 at 12:25 am
I understand what you’re doing because Ric Starnes never insulted your family, nor did he insinuate you’re breaking the law by being in this country illegally or by not paying your taxes. He did all those things to me and for that reason I believe it is important that I respond to his accusations merely by posting the truth about me on My blog.
I totally agree that the best way to handle a person thats filled with hate, yells and can’t put a coherent sentence together is by totally ignoring him. I’m more than willing to do that if Ric Starnes stops posting slanderous lies about Me.
2 Justin Thibault // Nov 18, 2007 at 12:26 am
Understood.
Given your situation that is totally appropriate. I don’t fault you for it nor do I think that anyone else here would either.
3 Thierry Wernaers // Nov 18, 2007 at 12:34 am
ok, did anyone happen to find a good deal on a turkey?
Just trying to get on with normal life
4 Aaron // Nov 18, 2007 at 12:42 am
I gotta give you serious “prop’s” for your decision, it’s one that takes some heart.
As for me, I’m gonna keep poking! I’ll not rest until I have garnered a place on his pathetic excuse of a website!!!
Viva the “Three Amigos”
PS. If that were ever to stick as a description for the three of us I call the alias “Dusty Bottoms”
You guys can choose between “Lucky Day” or “Ned Neidelander AKA Little Neddy Knickers.”
BTW: Does posting the above mean that I’ve wasted entirely too much time watching that movie?
5 Justin Thibault // Nov 18, 2007 at 12:51 am
Aaron, the best way to deal with people like that is ignore them. You’ll get more than a link.
The guy called my office and my church. They were amused; but some places wouldn’t be. Something to think about.
If you didn’t link to his site and I don’t link to his site and Theirry doesn’t “link” to his site - whose going to give him any inbounds? And if he doesn’t have any inbounds - he ain’t going to do too well on Google Searches.
6 Thierry Wernaers // Nov 18, 2007 at 1:03 am
You have a point. I removed links.
7 Thunder Pig // Nov 18, 2007 at 4:39 am
The apology is okay, the removal of the post is not because it is reminds me of the way the Communists in Russia would ‘remove things or people from history’ even going so far as to alter photographs to remove people who had fallen out of favor.
Those of us with rss readers, and access to the Google Cache, have preserved the post anyway, so never fret…history is not cheated, and the posts will live forever.
8 Justin Thibault // Nov 18, 2007 at 9:00 am
Thierry - Thanks.
Thunder Pig - As for having RSS Readers and Google Cache, I know that when I post something that it’s there for good. “Digital is forever”, I like to say. However, that post will no longer have a place on my blog. Thanks for subscribing, by the way.
You have a point…it isn’t cool to remove posts. Then again, I’m not a perfect blogger.
If you take a look at the categories, I have a whole section dedicated to how I’ve screwed up.
It’s the second of the 397 posts I’ve written that I’ve removed. The first was because of a coding issue and I removed it because it, frankly, sucked anyway and nobody was reading it.
The main issue wasn’t to “change history”. There were links in there that were inflaming a situation off-line for someone else who didn’t even post them.
I’m a person first and a blogger, like eighth. Removing the post helps calm the situation a little bit.
9 Aaron // Nov 18, 2007 at 11:45 am
OK, that makes sense, I removed the link as well…
10 Bob Carruth // Nov 18, 2007 at 4:57 pm
HOT-HOT-HOT!!!!!
Deep fried Cajun Turkeys on sale @ Razoo’s near Concord Mills - $49.95 for a 15 pounder - you can call the restaurant directly until tomorrow evening to order. Just tell them to credit the bird to Ashley CARRUTH.
(Dads have to do things like this for their only daughters…)
11 Lianne Meilhac (The "Alleged Wife" of LiberalNC) // Nov 18, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Justin, I’m glad you made the decision you did. Cooler heads needed to prevail here, and I’m glad you started the ball rolling (apparently, anyway). You made an excellent point about the inbound links allowing the site to gain undeserved attention.
Aaron, I haven’t thought of that movie in ages, and I don’t think Thierry has ever seen it. I’m adding it to our Netflix queue today!
I’m glad that you guys and Thierry are able to “agree to disagree”. It certainly keeps things interesting… and keeps him on his toes!
12 MarkMartin // Nov 18, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Justin, I agree with your decision.
13 Justin Thibault // Nov 18, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Bob - I’ll be sure to pick one out. That turkey weighs almost as much as my son.
Aaron - I saw that - good move.
Lianne - Welcome to the party.
Mark - Thanks.
14 Steve Smith // Nov 21, 2007 at 5:30 pm
All’s well in blogland
15 Mark Ðißiasio (The Scribe) // Nov 26, 2007 at 8:28 am
It is a balancing act at best and many times it’s the wacko that opens the eyes of the complacent.
It’s not easy being green — Kermit the Frog.
16 Phobia | Cabarrus Cheap Seats // Nov 29, 2007 at 9:01 pm
[...] some of you took issue with me taking a post down last week, the NC State Legistlature took erasing history to a whole new [...]