The forum at Pothos

[amyntoros]

I have been coming to this forum for years now. It used to be a place where intelligent discussions were guaranteed; where people were happy to share knowledge or discuss aspects of Alexander and his life in a cordial manner.Today Pothos is an embarrassment - a place where attempts are being made to drive individuals from this forum; to censor their opinions; to insult them on almost any level simply because they have a differing point of view. And in some cases the mere fact of not wholeheartedly supporting what is said in a post is enough to bring about a volley of insults.In short, and I will be blunt here, if you do not agree that the sun shines out of AlexanderGÇÖs backside then you will be told you are not welcome here. It doesnGÇÖt matter to these people that there is no definitive Alexander; that there is a myriad of emotional and/or intellectual responses to the man and to events in his life; that one can admire him intensely yet still find fault in some of the things he did, that one can understand and appreciate how other nations in antiquity may have felt about him; that one can read the books of a detractor of Alexander and not feel it is necessary to bury oneGÇÖs head in the sand and pretend that they donGÇÖt exist. Apparently, you must be prepared to deify and glorify Alexander on all levels or be subjected to personal abuse. Even supporting someone else who is a target is enough to bring this abuse down upon oneself. Make no mistake GÇô this is not just about me and my recent experiences here. I have watched this happen to others for some time now. There are people here who have thought that if we just ignore it, it will go away. They were wrong. There is more than one person with tremendous insight and knowledge of Alexander that has left Pothos in disgust. (I would like to stress that I am not talking about Jona here, in the event that someone should make that presumption.)On a personal level, I will say that I have no intention of leaving, and I have no intention of reducing my contribution to a defense against the unfounded and often laughable accusations being made. I will continue to post my opinions; I will continue to defend everyone elseGÇÖs right to post their own opinions; and if it becomes necessary, I will continue to post threads such as this until Pothos once again becomes the GÇ£friendly forumGÇ¥ that Jona recommended in his book.Amyntoros (Call me such in the future and not Linda Ann. I want to be absolutel

[amyntoros]

This was cut off in the other post, but I want it to be clear. I shall sign off as Amyntoros in the future. I want to be absolutely sure there is no further confusion when I am being addressed.

[Linda]

OK, Amyntoros!I support what you say, as you probably know. (I would have been happy to take Amyntoros as a name as well... )Linda

[Kit]

Well said Amyntoros!One of the things that has always fascinated me about Alexander are the contradictions and extremes in his character and psyche. Alexander was no angel, although he may have shared many of the characteristics of a Greek God. He had all the mortal virtues and vices, magnified! An unblemished Alexander would be only half the man he was, and considerably less interesting.regards,Kit.

[ancientlibrary]

Thanks for writing Linda Ann. I'm sorry you've
become irritated by the forum. I think you're
talking about the VDH post, which I only just
read. The negativity quotient is certainly high. .I survive here by being selective. I only read what
catches my eye, and to which there seems
something *solid* I can contribute, either solid
evidence, argument or occasionally a joke. Most
of the discussion here seems to be on the level
of talking about the weather or talking about
favorite foods. "About tastes there can be no
dispute" says Seneca; all you can do is emote..So, I have no interest in "Was Alexander good or
bad?" Not only is there a food-discussion
question, but it's too contingent. You can't
discuss it without discussing other, more basic
questions, like "How do we use the sources?"
Really answering the question would require
knowing how to construct, analyze and defend
arguments. .
Unfortunately, a very high proportion of the
opinions here are based upon
misaprehensions of how to construct, analyze
and defends arguments. We have
misundersanding of how to use secondary
sources, eg. citing Tarn's ipse dixit as evidence
for whether Alexander was part Albanian. And
we have lots of posts laden with irrational
biases, national and "personal." And we have a
lack of respect for others. Since the
conversation here lacks footing in good
argument, it slips and becomes the lowest form
of argument, praise and insult.
.
I have long been a critic of argument
here--sometimes constructive, sometimes just
frustrated--and I have also tried to silence
people, either nationalist yahoos or a certain
individual who claims to have a lost and entirely
true version of the Romance, but won't submit
the text to falsification. Today, however, let me
add one positive note. The reason we're
discussing Alexander has something to do with
the very real resonance he has today. I'm
enough of a classics nerd that I'd be happy
discussing lots of boring unresonant topics, but
that would be a nerdy, passionless forum. The
fact that Alexander can sustain such a place as
this is the sunny side to the irrational partiality
and meanness you decry.

[ruthaki]

Alexander was only human, after all..
And so are we.

[paulray]

Linda HelloI read your post with some interst,,, To be honest it look like there are person or persons that come here and seem to cause a pest or iritation,Just out of courtesy and a warning could you p-lease say who these peple are and what type of things they say to upset.As I said I only want to learn about Alexander and not be insulted.RegardsPaul

[Linda]

Hi PaulWelcome to the forum. What do you teach at school?I work in a university in Scotland.Linda

[paulray]

lindathis is very confusing i see 3 lindas.i tech basic english at a school in newcastle.so whats the problen in pothos?paul

[Linda]

How basic...?Jesus...

[xxx]

I believe Mr. Ray is using an alias if you know what I mean...

[heinrich]

I have read that you're not specifically talking about Jona, but I still have a feeling that the waves of criticism about Jona's ideas have forced you to write.I think that much criticism towards Jona was simply unfair. Like so many Dutchmen, he sometimes was a bit too candid, but he always had arguements and he certainly knew his sources. His book is one of the most important contributions to the study of Alexander, and regarding those who objected against Jona's views: mens sana qui mal y pense.HM

[heinrich]

This is too obvious, Kenny.HM

[LindaK]

I did suspect something. Such cunning!Linda

[beausefaless]

Greetings Amyntoros,

Too many times I'm guilty of squeezing grapes and posting at the same time then my darling better half (Eve) shows me, the morning after, how badly I placed my huge feet in my big mouth, then it's called damage control. Now when she sees me drinking alcohol immediately she grabs the laptop and hides it until I sober up.

When an individual can post something so derogatory as this including the lazy spelling which I corrected in parentheses and not even one British censor (believe me, I'm not talking about Susan) will not delete this post, as will follow this paragraph, I can see how you can get a bit frustrated plus it doesn't do this forum any good. The posts that get deleted in this forum is not based on what you might say but more of who you are! Now, I'm probably making a new enemy here, but I *do* agree with most of his posts! Take care Amyntoros, the proof is in the pudding:


In my opinion the V.D (VD) can stand for one of two meanings.

Venerial (Venereal) Disease, Which as this guy has to many feelings of inadequencies ( inadequacies) I doublt (doubt) hes (he's) been near a woman in his life other than occasional visits to chat rooms for intimate computer relations.

Or it syanmds (stands) for Verbal Diorhea,,,(Diarrhea) I think with the evidence of his writings the conclusion is quite eveicent.(evident)