Oh the shame... I've been caught out by a troll. I received what I thought was a genuine email from a regular poster on this list (not one of the really high volume posters, but someone who is around enough that his name would be familiar) who, I thought, was trying to make a genuine point about posting styles, conventions and tolerance of different opinions. I disagreed with the point, but thought it was genuine and so responded to it. He's just replied to me with this comment:
"The only reason I'm top-posting here is because it so obviously pushes your buttons." I well and truly got caught. I can't say its the first time I've ever been caught by a troll, but it hasn't been for many years, so I have to grudgingly give him points. He fooled me but good. I won't mention any names -- he doesn't need the publicity. But if you get an emotionally distraught email off-list from a regular, particularly if it goes on about tolerance and "why can't we all just get along?", be aware that there's a good chance he's just trolling. -- Steven D'Aprano -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
