It’s not very often that something really ruffles my feathers. This morning was one of those times.
I woke up with my coffee and browsed my Twitter feed for the previous several hours, as I usually do – and I found out that I was one of a few people being ”schooled” by a high-profile SL blogger. The crime? Tweeting snarkily that SL’s number-one mudslinger, Prokofy Neva, managed to get ‘his’ account deactivated.
My first response to the news of Prok’s deletion was ‘WTF?’ I checked ‘his’ Twitter feed and blog for a possible explanation, and found one. Prokofy alleged that the account had been temporarily suspended over a billing issue. This immediately brought to mind Prokofy’s verbal skewering of Ina Centaur over – surprise! - losing an account due to billing issues.
So I laughed at the irony. Oh, yes, I did laugh – and I did tweet. In fact, here’s a number of my comments, of which I am not the least bit ashamed:
Holy Crap … @Prokofy has apparently been suspended or banned. What in the world … how … what … ? http://bit.ly/vALGtS
Enjoy a grid free of Voldemort – if just for one day.
Voldemort gets banned from TSO, joins SL. TSO creator joins SL staff, Voldemort disappears from SL people list. Coincidence? I hope not.
10.27.2011 // NEVAR FORGET // [image of screaming eagle against backdrop of purple mountain's majesty goes here] #adaywithoutprok
I may have had an argument with my mom once, but at least I can pay my bills on time. #adaywithoutprok
I may be a furry, but at least I can pay my bills on time. #adaywithoutprok
(Someone check the milk carton, please.) http://bit.ly/vroKYV #adaywithoutprok
I may be a ‘moron who’s been on the internet too long’, but at least I can pay my bills on time. #adaywithoutprok
The word from the monocle’s mouth is that it’s a “billing issue” and that she’ll be back today or tomorrow. We’ll see.
And so on. You can go through my Twitter feed of October 27th if you care to read the rest. I’ve not deleted them, and I won’t.
Was it childish? Yes, it was. Was it spiteful? Oh, yes. Yes, it was. Was it good behavior? No, it was certainly was not. In fact, this is precisely the reason why I generally advise against interacting with or commenting on Prokofy – one almost always sinks to ‘his’ level.
But was it bullying? Hateful? This blogger claims that it was, that it was motivated by hate, and so they were “kicking the soap box out from under the feet of [Prok's] critics.”
However … this person has no place to wag fingers and pretend to feel sorry for Prok for comments made – because none of them rise to what this blogger has said themselves about Prokofy.
If I may, permit me to quote:
You are nobody until Prokofy has attempted to belittle you in her manic overly outrageous menopausal rampages … Catherine … Catherine… Catherine… much like the unibomber I imagine you taking a deep breath and typing full speed, tongue sticking out like a mad dog and dreaming of all the delicious angry comments that you’ll be able to consume as a result of again, your verbally abusive unfounded garbage. In the 17-1800′s they would have checked you in for treatment for mania or hysterics. Would you like me to send you a gift card to the closest ‘adult novely’ shop for treatment? That seems to be the consensus on rehabilitating you. I’ll send you some rechargeables.
The problem is that you like other bullies are used to spouting your fucking bullshit and innuendo (or in your case overt personal attacks) for notoriety. I strongly suspect that Mr. Neva isn’t keeping you satisfied in first life. If he was… perhaps you’d be an entirely different woman instead of the dried up messy excuse of a human being that you are. Everything you do is for attention… but at the cost of ruining the day for some good hearted schmuck who is just trying to have a normal day. It’s psychotic. And trust me… I know your type INTUITIVELY. You’d be far better off shaking that RL man of yours and getting a piece of WHATEVER you need to defrost yourself and rejoin the human race. There is a brain in there that I admire. But it’s so fucking buried by disjointed aggression that it loses all merit. You are a cow. And a heartless vile one at that. Karma’s a bitch… take your medicine baby… you reap what you sow.
Any luck getting Mr. Neva to provide? I still think there is a fluffy warm bunny under your scaly necrotic exterior… nothing a little good sex and a few bottles of wine (and maybe a personality transplant) won’t cure.
I’m curious. Are your children school yard bullies too? Do you encourage the inclination in them in the hopes that one day they take over your mission to bring misery to someone’s life every day… Come on kids! Let Mom show you how to contribute something REALLY valuable to the world. Sarcasm. Vindictive intention. Cruelty. Stress. Role model FTW!!! I’m so inspired by your humanity Prok… really. But tell me.. how do you sleep at night? I’m guessing heavily medicated or drunk.
No, I’m not a really big fan of hypocrisy. Not so much. Especially considering that nothing that I or anyone else said yesterday on Twitter concerning “A Day Without Prok” rose to this level. Not even close. Would I say such things? No. No, I would not.
So I’m not excusing anything that I said yesterday, nor am I making any apologies. Yes, it was somewhat mean-spirited, but I’m pretty sure Prok’s a grown-up and can take it as well as dish it out.
I was addressing the hypocrisy of berating others for losing their accounts due to billing issues – and now, I suppose I’m addressing the hypocrisy of pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye.
by Whiskey
28 Oct 2011 at 23:31
If you see something, say something.
by Angry and Damp
29 Oct 2011 at 20:07
You do not get it. Catherine is no different from any other fetish roleplayer. Prokofy is a romantic figure: the revolutionary reporter who stands up to the attacks on his ideals. Prokofy has an army of evil men before, and an enemy state behind him. Every time someone stands up to him, Prokofy wins… in Catherine’s mind.
Catherine attacks others, then pretends they react to the ideas of Prokofy, instead of Catherine’s antisocial behavior. Catherine pretends Prokofy debates, although Catherine makes him resort to name calling and arbitrary accusations at the slightest challenge. Catherine pretended to find a dark conspiracy in every major action in Second Life. When the conspiracy never plays out, Catherine pretends Prokofy successfully intervened.
Every time you attack Catherine’s stoic fetish character, you reward Catherine. By the end of your article, you made her angry and damp. Why? Because the return of “Prokofy” will now be triumphant. You questioned whether Catherine’s fantasy man would back up, and here comes the sweet return …
Do not feed the fantasies of Catherine. Address her behavior for what it is. Do not respond to her puppet, but the puppeteer herself. Always address Catherine, not her character. Always respond to her specific actions without letting “Prokofy” rouse you with distractions. Like many others before you, Catherine will attack you a few times and try to draw you back into the world of “Prokofy.” If you make that fail, it becomes more rewarding to pretend you no longer exist.
This is how you opt out of Catherine’s game.
by Marx Dudek
30 Oct 2011 at 17:00
These are very good points.
Prok will be Prok – we know that. And Prok – or Prok’s author – is never going to acknowledge his/her blatant hypocrisies.
As to the other hypocrisy … well, let’s just say that reinventing oneself does not wash away past indiscretions – particularly if those indiscretions were particularly vicious and personal … and public. As Morrissey so aptly put it, “There’s always someone, somewhere, with a big nose who knows”. Only a truly clean hand can reach down to pick up the first stone – and nobody’s hands are that clean.
by Bunjie
22 Nov 2011 at 10:46
I respect you a lot more than I do most Marx regardless of what Prokofy attempt’s to smear you with, and what ever you think of me or what ever my opinion is worth to you these days, I believe it’s always nice to see you take a stand for what you believe in all drama aside.
I’ve wanted to say for a while as far as I’m aware more than most like you, so we’re not against you in any way, shape or form and just because Prokofy pointed things out that you might feel self conscious about or might think will effect our opinion of you I want to say don’t worry, she can’t tarnish our opinion of you which is that you’re a pretty cool person, just like Daniel Voyager who like you is a warm and irreplaceable part of the Second Life community that any of us who notice when you’re being abused should defend in a heart beat.
I’m not on Twitter in any active social capacity, so I’m sorry I could not do anything this time round, but I would have had I been active and listening at the time though you seem more than strong enough to deal with Prokofy on your own if this article is anything to go by but you’re not alone.
As Angry and Damp says address her behavior for what it is which is something that we might differ on via details if we look at her in depth, but that’s just something that comes out of our own perspectives she spewed towards us and forced us into, but in my eyes it’s the basic problem of the systematic abuse towards other residents for her own financial and egotistical benefit, a crafting of a persona that is abusive, baiting and unwilling to listen or adapt to where Second Life is going or where it has been.
I don’t really hate her or feel a grudge but I believe it’s something that Linden Lab should have stepped in and stopped long ago and not just formed an action plan / company policy with how to “talk to her” or how to defend her from everyone else.
That which destroys the social fabric of the platform and pushes anyone with a differing opinion or mind set away from embracing the entire community, should not be left to get away with that which we wouldn’t because a corporation believes we have less of a voice due to their investment being seen as a safety net from a perma-ban.
But dealing into Hypocrisy I have to acknowledge pushing her out just like the JLU and redzone or the emerald gate devs also qualifies as she claims to have a differing opinion as they did, but if in all fact it’s a charade and her so called “opinion” is built on the desire to exploit other residents in a way that the community and TOS shouldn’t accept after 4-5 years is it really Hypocrisy to ask her to leave? no. would she leave? no, so what can one do? certainly not be silent in the face of abuse.
Silence is feeding into her behaviour by letting her feel empowered through mental and verbal abuse, speaking out because you believe she’s being abusive to others or you is not always as long as it comes from a direction she wont expect or that is directly towards Linden Lab in a public space where the guardians who are supposed to manage this platform from disruptive business practices or mental abuse / harassment the type she engages in will be shamed into taking action as that’s the only way they listen and act.
It all seems to be experience through the platform vs Investment in the platform, without investment we’d not have an adequate experience through Second Life, but investment that rips or poisons the experience for those who it’s duty bound to service is a path to failure, and shes dragging us all down socially towards what ever pit of hell she’s aiming for to scrape that bottom profit from the uninformed residents who don’t care who she abuses to get them popular well known land or help them become one of the prominent SL celebrities.
I think she’s inevitably one reason of many why “techs” won’t invest their idle minds inSL to improve it or they shy away from writing about it because of the constant attacks against their ideas outside of this service by the person behind Prokofy, and maybe down the line some see it as one way to get back at her for what shes done to them. If they have the power to broadcast a social message she’ll attack them and they won’t help promote SL because it can hurt Prokofy not to forget as shes eviscerated as a bottom scraping e-land baron towards them, and we all inevitably suffer because of her past actions towards others but that’s not to say that’s only reason why SL deteriorated in the eyes of tech bloggers but I do believe it added pressure towards them not writing about it..
Who would want to write about Second Life if all you get back is abuse in the comment sections from Prokofy against their articles, ideas and other commentators.
Stay strong!
.
by Marx Dudek
25 Nov 2011 at 22:03
Thank you for such a thoughtful response, Bunjie.
I completely agree with this statement: “I don’t really hate her or feel a grudge but I believe it’s something that Linden Lab should have stepped in and stopped long ago and not just formed an action plan / company policy with how to “talk to her” or how to defend her from everyone else.”
If there is an FIC that’s more than just one disturbed person’s enemies list, then Prok is at the top of that list.