Eddie TX
I worked in customer service a while ago, and if my supervisor had ever heard me get snarky with a customer, no matter how irate or misguided they were, I'd have been fired on the spot. I indeed had to "sit still and take it" every day as people ranted and raved and spewed insults at me.
I worked in CS too, for over ten years, and while that is true, the first thing that comes to mind when I read these threads is that I feel for the guy on the receiving end.
The other thing that comes to mind, and which doesn't require any experience in CS is something my mother taught me:
try and be a decent human being.
Which means: don't insult people, don't call them name, don't cash in on the fact that they've been told to
sit still and take it and behave like a complete **** just because you can technically take it all out of them.
Because even if one can get away with it, that doesn't make him right or absolve him - it's still ugly.
CS is usually done one-on-one, in private, or in a dedicated environment. If things get out of hand, a superior will be called in, or another solution will be found.
This isn't the case here - it's a public forum where IK folks have no other privilege than being let in as users.
I think it's a loss that Larry decided to quit, but imho, it also shows that maybe he'd taken this crusade of his against IK quite seriously, to the point of leaving these forums altogether only because a few of us very politely -
without ever attacking him personally - commented that we thought maybe the negativity was a bit too much.
OTOH, more than once I've personally benefited from Obi's presence around here - the guy has always been of assistance, prompt to reply and absolutely courteous whenever I pm'd him.