Quote from archimedes:
To all you guys protesting against kingcobra et al -- I don't think you realize what the program is here.
These guys are nihilists. Whether they realize it or not, entropy is their ultimate goal.
Consider a few of entropy's definitions:
# A measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system.
# A measure of the loss of information in a transmitted message.
# The tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to evolve toward a state of inert uniformity.
# Inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society.
Kingcobra and his brethren are like zombies. But instead of feasting on brains, they feast on intelligent discourse and rational thought. Their goal is to infiltrate, deluge and submerge.
Do you guys remember the first Halo? These guys are The Flood -- mindless, generic undead who try to consume all that is before them, leaving the world a drab and lifeless brown.
Their goal is not to engage, not to stimulate thought, not even to provoke so much. It is to snuff out life -- life, in this case, being free thought and rational discourse.
There are no real positions taken, only positions attacked. When a position appears to be taken it is really only a pseudo-position, a command post from which to wage the war of decay on other genuine viewpoints.
That nightmarish happyface that Z10 has grown fond of recently is a perfect representative of this phenomenon. The fucking thing even looks like a mascot for the undead.
Kingcobra is merely a lesser demon. Someone else advanced the theory a while back, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were actually the long lost candletrader, who showed a clear knack for this type of obsessive compulsive nihilism and was a little better at donning fake personas than Z10 is.
My theory is that these guys are shrouded in a fog of anger and pain, but their senses have been dulled. They want to lash out, but they don't know who or what to lash out at. So they come to this place, and find that they can irritate and agitate others, and the emotional reaction they get from others is a kind of morphine for them. A distraction from the brown monotony of their own existence. And that morphine quickly becomes addictive... because they have a pain inside that needs to be soothed, just like those cranium chompers in the Dawn of the Dead movies.
The upshot is, threads devoted to kingcobra are the psychological equivalent of stroking the guy off. He is a chitchat ghoul, feeding off the energy of the living. When you give him all this attention, it only makes him loll his tongue and roll his eyes in temporary pleasure. But it won't be enough. It will never be enough. He will always need more. More. MORE!
If we were in the Master Chief's world, he would know what to do. In the real world, I think Ivanovich has the best strategy. Let the ghouls wither away for lack of attention.
In fact, that would be an interesting campaign. What if everyone agreed to not only put the ghouls on ignore, but to PM anyone seen to engage with the ghouls directly, explaining in emphatic terms why that's a bad idea. Make 'em persona non grata. Drain the swamp.
