<JFQ> used to be more pleasant -- when she was first on this site, and she genuinely wanted to learn about chess and stuff. 20,000 posts later, it seems like she feels that she owns the place. And she floods every forum she visits with this inane, pretentious garbage -- clumsy and inappropriate literary references, dubious puns, and pseudo-erudite non sequiturs. Oh, the non sequiturs.

Here's what they have in common -- these sad little folk. More than attention, they crave respect. <slomarko> wants his opinion to matter. That's why he foists it on people that don't care what he has to say -- it's why he assaults people who have expressed open contempt for him. He doesn't want to win the argument, so much as he wants to feel appreciated, and the dumb lug keeps bashing his head against a brick wall, trying to get that appreciation. Talk about a guy with no social skills.

<JFQ>, on the other hand, is after more than raw attention and respect. She specifically wants people to think of her as intelligent and sophisticated. To that end, every post she writes oozes with a sort of false bravado. One can only speculate what childhood trauma inspired her to such ostentation. Frankly, I find it less interesting to burst her bubble, as her particular brand of phoniness strikes me as more embarrassing and self-destructive than annoying. Anyway, she tends to leave me alone for months at a time, so I rarely feel any need to address her.

But what I don't get is: Why don't you simply put them on ignore and get on with it? Why keep ranting on and trying to impose your views on them on others?

There are people here that actually like these two. What's wrong with that.

Right. Don't patronize me. I don't need you to tell me I'm "intelligent". So, let's be clear on this: you're claiming that you're just some random guy, who creates an account for the sole purpose of razzing me, and you stick around long enough to tell me that you're not a sock puppet. That's it. And now you're going off to greener pastures? Am I getting this right? This is your claim? Well, I <seriously> think that you're a sock puppet. Seriously.

Hah. When the opposition needs to resort to crap like this, it's a pretty clear sign who's in the right. You know, the temptation to create a sockpuppet account has never crossed my mind. Or to use clever sobriquet. My username is my real name. I am who I am. No sock puppets. No fakery. Whether you like what I've got to say or not, at least I'm upfront and honest. I don't claim to be anything more than I am. And I'm happy to be who I am -- warts and all. Well, I don't have any warts, but if I did, I'd be proud of 'em, too.

When you turn your back on a dung-flinging monkey, it doesn't disappear. You just end up having feces on your back and not realizing it.

Go back -- I posted five. I'd be happy to post as many as you would like.

<Woody> I have the book. It may be my favorite chess book, actually. I was under the impression that Karolyi did the chess work and Alpin or whatever did the translating. Perhaps I'm mistaken.