"Where did he go?" by Where did he go? | The Pilot: Southern Pines, NC

Where did he go?

Blog: Where did he go?

March 25, 2010

Has anyone noticed that Anglophile is missing? Not just in a not-contributing-to-the-board way, but his online persona actually appears to have vaporized. I don’t know if the Pilot actually pulled the plug on him or just put him in timeout, but try and find one of his posts. Has he been deleted? It would appear so. It is as if he never existed(cue Twilight Zone theme).

When someone we know in our real life is taken away, we often ask “Why?” I suppose I’m asking the same question, although I think I have a pretty good idea for an answer.

In case you might not have noticed, Anglo directed much of his angst at the Pilot staff, the very same people who host the forum allowing him to speak his mind so freely. So, I’m guessing he bit the hand that fed him once too many times.

Anyone who read Anglo’s posts knows that he didn’t mince words. To be honest, I personally detested his rude and arrogant manner. (I even once commented on his offensive posting style and received an equally rude reply directed at me.) And, if it were actually possible to hide someone’s posts, I likely would have hidden his.

However…in the words of the old saying, “I may not agree with your opinion, but I’ll respect your right to express it.”

Well, to a point, I guess.

It seems odd to miss someone whom I only knew through his postings, especially when those posts were so annoying. And it’s a bit weird memorializing someone who is not actually dead. And it’s definitely a stretch to find kind, eulogizing words for someone who so willingly spewed bad karma.

Still, if this was indeed a virtual execution, I don’t quite know if I like it.

None 3 years, 1 month ago

I'm sure Pilot Management removed his posts, probably for personal attacks. His friendship with Tom Embrey is well known around the bloggist-sphere. So I'm sure their decision to press the delete key was gut wrenching.

Attacking people personally with degrading and volatile comments tend to keep good intellectual communication at a premium. The Pilot is in the business of turning a profit and provide a civil medium for advertisers. The more exposure to blogs, the better advertising revenue. If posters like Anglofile or others who have left because of being intellectually challenged attack other threads, then it's time to move on to another intelligent board.

I didn't know this person, and he came out of the gate slinging insults at the key-board Ninja....

Poundman 3 years, 1 month ago

Bring him back, Freedom of speech!!!!!

Tom_Embrey 3 years, 1 month ago

@all

As a matter of full disclosure Anglo is my neighbor. I will also say that the decisions that are made here are to make this site the best it can be for our readers. We want a good exchange of ideas and information and thoughtful discussion. And we want to be done in a respectful way. Anglo brings some good ideas to the table, but he can be -- as we all know -- a bit caustic, even offensive, at times. I guess his posts aren't for the faint of heart. Anglo's comments were removed from the site, but he will be back. And we hope that he, and all of our bloggers and posters on the site, will continue to bring plenty of intelligent insight to his comments without stooping to personal attacks.

None 3 years, 1 month ago

Thanks Tom for qualifying what most of us were thinking. Anglo seems to be an intelligent person; sometimes intelligent people have unusual ways of expressing themselves - for effect.