If I were a participant on a site, I would want to know if a mod had a history of this kind of behavior. Once I knew, I'd then be in a position to judge for myself what to think.

I suspect a lot, if not most, of the TVTropes people would think "He hasn't done anything to me, so I don't care." I'm a little less concerned because as far as I can tell, he's not at this moment soliciting donations or anything to run the site.

Okay, then I think I will just delete my posts and let you all piece it together on your own. Please know, I understand your desire. So much. I just think it is a desire I need to reject. At the end of the day, my opinion of B.org's Gus is that he effed up; our pain was never his point. It was incidental. As ita pointed out, that doesn't help everyone. I am not sure it even helps me that much. It does, however, make me unwilling to go after him, five years later. Peace to you all.

I don't really see the difference there is in anyone telling this story, and me telling Penlind's story. Except Penlind really did die in the end, but after I wrote it.

Fast Eddie, I assume, isn't his real name. I also assume that people who do this continue to do this sort of thing. I wonder where there might be another incarnation of Gus on the web, inviting people to his home, getting bitten by strange beasts in the jungles of south america, dying tragically, leaving people broken-hearted, and then starting useful websites.

HAS ANYONE ACTUALLY EVER MET ANDREW TI?

Cindy, please don't delete your old posts. It feels like you think there's some mob gathering here, that is going to use your posts to start some shitstorm. I don't think that's true.

Personally, I don't see the point in inserting ourselves into any of it, but we would have to have a LOT more agreement here, I think.

And Cindy, I don't know if it's a comfort or if you need to be told this, but I believe the real story would have come out even without you speaking up. This isn't to discount the effort and care you put into the situation, of course.

I think I'm missing a shit-ton of information.

Allyson, did you see the stories on The Mary Sue? That was my original impetus for taking the temperature of the group.

Cindy, I think you made a good point, and I don't think people are offended by it.

I don't care about the Tropers community; I don't feel any great urge to help them out. And whenever I've done something because I'm mad at someone else, I pretty much always regret it, and usually regret the consequences.

Cindy, please don't delete your old posts. It feels like you think there's some mob gathering here, that is going to use your posts to start some shitstorm. I don't think that's true.

Seconded. We're just talking, it's what we do, and I don't see a mob gathering. The pitchforks are still in the barn.

And Cindy, deleting your posts removes part of the conversation from anyone who comes in later. You have added valuable information and context, and it will be hard to make this discussion make sense if you take away everything you've said--because what you said is helping shape the discussion.

I think if a troper asked us for information, that might be different. Or even if we were approached by a reporting or blogger investigating, I think we could offer up what we know. But actively seeking to insert ourselves into the situation and screaming about how big of a asshole he is or what he did or didn't do to our board or if the website was his original idea just smacks of too much vendetta.

I hate him but I don't want to go tell other people how much of a dick he is unless they ask me.