Mary’s Monday Metazoan: Happy spider! » « My ego is muted by the fact it is not the OED

Kooks amuck

What happened last night? Did someone spike the entire North American water supply with hallucinogens? Because for some reason all the kooks went nuts in a short span of time. Many of you probably noticed that David Mabus/Markuze, the Canadian lunatic with the obsession with Nostradamus and James Randi and seeing atheists burn in hell, went on a spamming spree all over here (a spree which seems to have been mostly cleaned up now). He was also emailing me his angry rants, so that was another mess to clean up.

There was other silly email, but I’ve thrown most of it out, too. You might be amused at the Return of the Kwok, though. He’s been mailing me regularly, and also cc’ing his cockeyed screeds to random other people, like senior faculty in my discipline. This one also went out to Abbie, for no rational reason that I can determine.

From: jkwok60@hotmail.com
Subject: Your Facebook campaign
Date: April 5, 2009 11:26:07 AM CDT
To: myersp@morris.umn.edu

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Dear PZ –

If you’re conducting a Facebook campaign against me, then it isn’t working. Just noticed that I have more mutual friends of ours at Facebook than I ever did before, even when we were good “friends”.

You owe me an apology for your silly behavior towards me at Pharyngula, Facebook, and Panda’s Thumb. I also expect to have my posting privileges at Pharyngula reinstated. You are also expected to apologize to Ken Miller for calling him a “creationist”. As for the camera, if you feel generous enough, you can throw that in too, but I made that demand just to see how silly you’d behave, and you fell for my bait (The only one I expect to receive photo equipment from is Bill Dembski, whose behavior yours so closely resembles.). However, if you do go to Ken’s talk and make a complete ass of yourself, then I’ll make that demand again.

Just for the record, I wasn’t “whining” when I observed that there are at least two fellow New Yorkers prominent in the secular humanist and atheist movements who are more worthy of the honor “Humanist of the Year”:
philosopher and Center for Inquiry United Nations representative Austin Dacey and journalist/author Susan Jacoby. Both Dacey and Jacoby have done a lot more on behalf of both than you’ve ever done (or will). You are getting your award simply because of your Dembski-like behavior; nothing more, nothing less.

Respectfully yours,

John Kwok

P. S. I’m cc’ing Abbie on this only because I want her to start realizing how much of a jerk you’ve been and to suggest that if there’s anyone she ought to be admiring as a “parent”, then it’s not you, but someone far more responsible, like Genie Scott or Ken.

I have not been waging a “Facebook campaign” against anyone. Kwok’s posting privileges are permanently gone. He’s not getting an apology, or a camera, from me. I like both Austin Dacey and Susan Jacoby; this is not some weird competition or zero-sum game. I can tell that it does rankle poor Mr Kwok, though.

Mary’s Monday Metazoan: Happy spider! » « My ego is muted by the fact it is not the OED

Comments

  2. ThatOtherGuy says

    I’m actually starting to get semi-concerned for this guy, as patronizing as it may sound. Seems like he may actually have something seriously wrong with him.

  3. Sastra says

    I can tell that it does rankle poor Mr Kwok, though.

    Eccentric is one thing, but I think poor Mr. Kwok is a bit mentally unbalanced, and poor Mr. Kwok should stop being tweaked. He needs to start unrankling, soon.

  4. Rick R says

    Whoo-wheeeeee!! It HAS been a shitstorm of crazy, hasn’t it? Between Mabus and Rob and Derender on the Iowa marriage thread and elsewhere, it’s been like some cataclysmic, orgasmic lightshow of derangement. Kind of like the finale of “2001”, only with feces.

  7. Nerd of Redhead, OM says

    Kwok just doesn’t have a clue. Didn’t he cyberstalk Abbie? If he did, wouldn’t this make PZ seem like a fellow stalkee to Abbie? Not all there.

  9. says

    Did someone spike the entire North American water supply with hallucinogens?

    The only thing I can think of is Obama treated the King of Saudia Arabia with respect, which—guessing now—is sure to have set off the USAian kooks. And Kwoks. Maybe all the squawking woke up the Canadian kooks?

  10. says

    Kind of like the finale of “2001”, only with feces.

    But the finale of 2001 actually made sense (esp. if you read the book).

  12. Kai says

    I don’t understand why you’re giving Kwok the Kook so much attention on your blog. It makes him look much more important than he really is. People might like reading about the freak, but, in the eyes of some readers, it makes you look less serious.

  13. St. Tabby Lavalamp says

    I would watch “Oh That Kwok!” if someone ever made it into a sitcom.
    Something that I don’t get is why someone so badly wants posting privileges at a blog where he is so clearly not welcome. It’s like whining because strangers won’t let you into their houses to give speeches.

  14. says

    This looks like the cherry on the sundae. Kwok is cracked. We’ve suspected it. Now we’re sure of it. It’s all played out. Nothing to see here. Move along, folks. Nothing to see here.

    Kind of sad, really.

  15. MZ says

    You know, getting around a posting ban is trivial even if it is based on IP address. I won’t say how, but if he spent 1/10th the time researching that as he does harassing everyone else, he’d be posting here already.

  17. Chupacabras says

    Duh! This is *Holly* week, and the moon is approaching full phase. The zombies crave for brains because they lack!

  18. endit says

    I vote for no more Kwok talk. Ignore him completely, I’m tired of reading his lunacy.

  19. Guy Incognito says

    You are getting your award simply because of your Dembski-like behavior; nothing more, nothing less.

    The above reminds of me of quite a few slow nights at work spent debating the merits of various movies. When one’s favorite movie received multiple Academy Awards, they were obviously given in recognition of that movie’s crowning achievement and its superiority to all other movies. When a film one didn’t like received multiple Academy Awards, it was just more evidence that the film was overrated.

  22. Rrr says

    I second the opinion that it has something to do with the phase of the moon.* Wasn’t there even a psychiatric term on that note some century ago?** Best give Kwok a bit of asylum. He needs to rest, IMHO.
    * #17
    ** #16, #18

  23. karen says

    Well, you asked for it PZ. You continue to mercilessly stock Kwok by receiving emails from him, so what else can you expect? Everyone expects the Kwok Inquisition!

  26. Facehammer says

    #18, I can see why, but for me it’s like a train wreck full of clowns. It’s sad and funny and I’ll keep watching for as long as the wreckage keeps piling up.

  27. says

    I think the part I find most humorous is the lame back-peddling about the camera demand (“Oh, I wasn’t actually trying to extort you… I just wanted to see if you would be a jerk if I made some baseless demand for an apology gift”). It’s like trying to cover up that you don’t know someone’s name by asking them how they spell it, only to find out it is something like “Bob” or “Mary”. Trying to deflect the embarrassment by saying something like, “Oh, I’ve seen it spelled before with two b’s” actually only makes you look more like an ass.

  30. Heather says

    PZ – Thanks for keeping the comment section open on Pharyngula so that we don’t have to register. I know it must be a lot more work for you to clean up the mess of the trolls. However, it really is much nicer than when you tried that registration experiment. I really love the lively and humorous community of Pharyngula that you have created!

  31. St. Tabby Lavalamp says

    Being a brand new saint, I feel I should reach out and help Mr. Kwok. I will do so by posting for him.

    The mendacious intellectual pornography known as intelligent design.

    There, done. Now he can feel better.
    Seriously though, Google “mendacious intellectual pornography”.

  32. says

    “Just noticed that I have more mutual friends of ours at Facebook than I ever did before, even when we were good ‘friends.'”
    What, I thought Kwok was threatening PZ Myers with the loss of Facebook friends?

  33. says

    so if you’re waging a ‘facebook war’ against him it’s not working… He ignored the other obvious possibility. No-one is waging any war against him, it’s all in is head.

  34. ragarth says

    I think Kwok really does have a mental illness. I saw something similar to this once on an old IRC network, only in this other fellow’s case he liked to defecate on himself.

    It’s generally best just to ignore them, let the crazy’s attention slide elsewhere when they fail to get any feedback, then go to the authorities if it escalates. At most make a post stating that this fellow is stalking you and attempting to sabotage your friendships and acquaintences so that people understand when they receive random male from the freakshow.

  37. SLC says

    I suggest that Prof. Myers query Ken Miller if he attends the latters’ presentation as to whether he even knows who Kwok the crock is.

  38. aratina says

    As for the camera, if you feel generous enough, you can throw that in too, but I made that demand just to see how silly you’d behave, and you fell for my bait… -kwok

    He must have learned that from his party leader, Michael Steele.

  40. Anonymous says

    I think this guy thinks facebook is much more important than it really is.

  42. Sili says

    It’s the moon, yes. This sorta thing always happens within a fortnight of it being full. :nods sagely:

    Funny thing that he should suggest that Abbie is looking to PeeZed as a parental figure. My impression is that her parents are loving, caring, supporting and still together. Not mention atheists.

    Is this another case of projection? Does Kwok have daddy-issues?

    (If he wants to point the finger in this matter, I might well be a better target. I’m just not interesting enough (nor am I on Facebook).)

  43. says

    From seeing these messages from Kwok, one wonders what kind of life Kwok leads. Is he so desperate to get attention because… he has none elsewhere?

  45. squall25 says

    PZ and fellow board members:

    Has anyone suggested contacting Ken Miller and seeing if he would issue a statement on this nutcase? Would that be feeding the trolls or possibly putting Prof. Miller in harm’s way? I respect Prof. Miller’s science credentials and completely agree with the PZ’s views. I am just curious why Kwok hasn’t been looked at by the authorities.

  46. says

    #36, the problem though is that if he ignores Kwok, Kwok might go crazy; if he responds to Kwok, Kwok might go crazy; and if he semi-responds by posting an email he received here or there, Kwok might go crazy

    So he really can’t win as Kwok is likely to go crazy regardless – there are news stories for each of the above situations I mentioned. The best he can do is chronicle the craziness in order to protect himself should that happen…

  48. Nerd of Redhead, OM says

    And another banned troll appears, appropriately enough, in the kooks thread.

  49. karen says

    @blf#28

    OMFG! I didn’t even realize my error till you pointed it out!Color me am-bare-assed. Stocking Kwoks would truly be a bizarre thing for PZ to do.

    *creeps off to dark corner to write “I will proof my comments” 100 times*

  51. says

    Based on the messages, and posts I have seen form this guy I think he is either mentally unstable, or simply suffering from a very severe case of the stupid. We need to take him in to get a brain transplant.

  52. SLC says

    Considering that Mr. Kwok made an ass of himself last December on Pandas Thumb with several comments claiming that President Obama was born in Kenya. A first class birther was Mr. Kwok.

  53. Jim says

    Matt Heath @ #5

    Ha. It’s like when Warren and Andrew and Jonathan thought they were Buffy’s arch-nemeses.

    Brilliant analogy! Seconded!

  54. dogmeatib says

    But if Kwok is never again allowed to post here, how will we ever hear the updates on what is going on at his high school? How, how I ask you!?!?!?!?

  55. Tulse says

    Since Kwok has been banned from here, does that mean that he has been Kwok-blocked?

  58. Tomi says

    “Ha. It’s like when Warren and Andrew and Jonathan thought they were Buffy’s arch-nemeses.”

    Spot on!

  59. Scott Hatfield, OM says

    This fellow is the gift that keeps on giving, from the most prestigious high school of the 20th Century

    (garbled edit)

  60. Tersse says

    in answer to #31 I prefer “mind fart known as intelligent design”, it has more truthiness to it for my mind, and this is a good way to answer any creationist asking for proof of evolution, send them to this link, and maybe if they can read words of more than 2 sylable they will see the truth, http://www.nmsr.org/nylon.htm.

    peace and rational thought to you all.

  61. says

    Yes, PZ your behavior has been mostunbecoming. You shall not get recess this afternoon and you will have to recite 12 “Hail Marys” and a “Glory be to God” before the whole class at the end of the day. But remember, you are still special in the eyes of Jesus.

  62. XD says

    I hope Kwok gets the help he so desperately needs.

    I second the people who suggest you ignore him. Giving him attention is like giving an alcoholic booze; it’s what he wants, but it’s just making the problem bigger.

  63. Newfie says

    #47 Glen D

    You know it’s spelled “amok,” don’t you? A trivial matter, but it would be better to get it right.

    This thread has run akwok.

  64. cyan says

    Glen @ #47,

    Of course PZ knows it is “amok”; its just that the “muck” is so much more apropos.

  65. Teleprompter says

    Does anyone else find this whole affair to be ridiculous?

    We know he’s a troll, so why are we feeding him? Why are we giving him our continued attention? It seems quite absurd.

  66. says

    #42 I believe Abbie has referred to PZ as a mentor. I suppose that’s where Kwok gets this “parental figure” idea from.

  67. XD says

    #46

    the problem though is that if he ignores Kwok, Kwok might go crazy; if he responds to Kwok, Kwok might go crazy; and if he semi-responds by posting an email he received here or there, Kwok might go crazy

    From the evidence so far, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to conclude that Kwok is crazy. And as the Binghamton shooting has demonstrated, crazy people shouldn’t be poked with sticks.

  68. Chemgirl says

    PZ, you should let Kwok know sometime just how entertaining he is. This e-mail actually made me laugh out loud–he thinks he can control/order you around just because he’s got more Facebook friends?

    Kwoky, baby, usually you wait until you have the upper hand to start making demands.

  70. featheredfrog says

    Is Kwok actually posting from an Apple IP address, or is he joejobbing it somehow?

  72. Geoffrey of Ballard says

    We need a new term to contrast with pz envy: pztalker, one who repeatedly sends nonsensical emails.

  73. Janine, Insulting Sinner says

    For those who doubt that PZ is using the wrong term for this title, in this case PZ is right on target. Ain’t I a stinker!

  74. says

    I knew a guy EXACTLY like this Kwok Kook. His targets were a bit different but these phony erudite Kwokotypes are completely harmless, you can beat on them FOREVER, and it just bounces right off, doesn’t even slow them down.

    Eventually they get bored and move on.

    I think he’s sufficient as a diversion. It’s a degenerate symbiotic relationship, he thinks he’s being brilliant, and we are all laughing, it’s sick, but it’s win-win.

    PZ wouldn’t have to ban people if Pharyngulytes were not such obsessive troll feeders. I am astounded every time I come here and Pete Rooke is getting responses, Pete Rooke could be a computer generated word-bot and people STILL respond to him, it’s very unusual online behavior.

  75. Steve Ulven says

    It’s the full moon of course. That’s the only thing that would make sense.

  76. co says

    Glen, at #47:

    You know it’s spelled “amok,” don’t you? A trivial matter, but it would be better to get it right.

    I thought the same (only “amock”), but looked it up in the OED. All the variants (including PZ’s) are OK (though the etymology indicates a kind of racism!).

  77. says

    PZ wouldn’t have to ban people if Pharyngulytes were not such obsessive troll feeders. I am astounded every time I come here and Pete Rooke is getting responses, Pete Rooke could be a computer generated word-bot and people STILL respond to him, it’s very unusual online behavior.

    You’re right. We are collectively very trollable. I think a fair proportion of us just like arguing with fools. At least Pharynguloids seem to have stopped calling every moderate that turns up a concern troll. That used to annoy me slightly.

  78. says

    It is perfectly acceptable in standard English to use “amuck” instead of “amok.” The latter is somewhat more common, but the former gives a better idea of what people usually say when they speak the word aloud.

  79. Lynsey says

    :( Wish whoever should be caring for Kwok and Markuze would get to it already. Think they’d both be considered for sectioning in the UK. Markuze seems to be so far gone from reality that he can’t see it anymore and Kwok’s on a slippery slope.

    What do the mental health care profession advice in these circumstances? It feels like watching someone wander into traffic.

  80. derender says

    If you ask me, the whole sight is crazy. maybe that’s why i keep coming back. I’m a little deranged too. I love animals – they’re delicious.

  81. Janine, Insulting Sinner says

    Please consult my previous post. It is from Duck Amuck. Considered by many to be one of the greatest of the Loonie Toon shorts.

  82. Janine, Insulting Sinner says

    Derender, if you are deranged, it is because you are in love with your own ignorance. By the way, that crack only works when you are in a group of vegetarians. While I am sure that some of the regulars are, they really do not make a big deal of it. Also, there is a strong bacon smell at this site. (No, it is not sight)

  83. Bobber says

    Janine:

    Duck Amuck is definitely among the top five Loonie Toon shorts of all time. I would include among the five What’s Opera, Doc?, Robin Hood Daffy, The Rabbit of Seville, and Rabbit Fire… but oh, the competition is fierce.

    Figures that my ears would only perk up when a Warner Brothers cartoon is mentioned. They made far more sense than anything Mr. Kwok has said thus far.

  84. JohnnieCanuck says

    Racist? Maybe, but sort of not. From the dictionary entry I saw, it is from a Malay word amuk meaning uncontrollable rage and which describes a behaviour that was culturally localised in Malaysia. The word came to England via India where it was used to describe rogue elephants (lone males in musth).

    In Malaysia, it may have been a way for a man (yes, man) to achieve an honourable suicide, otherwise prohibited by Islam. Some evidence for this is that the practice pretty much disappeared once authorities emphasized capturing over killing the perpetrator.

    The things you can learn on this blog!

  85. druidbros says

    Posted by: Libbie | April 5, 2009 4:14 PM

    Kwok has his crazy hat on.

    All the time.

    Thats his hairline !

    Janine? I wish you would stop getting me so excited. A girl who likes Looney Tunes? Be still my twitterating heart.

  87. says

    I made that demand just to see how silly you’d behave, and you fell for my bait… -kwok

    That’s because you’re such an master baiter.

    I’m kind of surprise that we went 90 posts without someone making that joke. Oh well, I seed my dooty and dood it.

    As for picking on trolls. I think it’s important for them to at least get a canned response or the casual reader might think they have a point.

  89. Karl E. Taylor says

    PZ, the kooks only wish that they had 1% of your following. Nothing burns a kook more than to realize they are not the center of everyone’s universe.

  90. Sauceress says

    Kwok could quite possibly be an NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder)

    http://www.mental-health-today.com/narcissistic/dsm.htm

    NPDs spend an inordinate amount of time and effort at manipulation/intimidation in their attempts at forcing others into awareness of their (self perceived) superior status.
    I’ve always simply imagined them growing up as overindulged, self absorbed, spoiled brats!

  91. vespera says

    As asinine as Kwok is, why is his header info in there? He didn’t threaten PZ, just whined a lot and blew hot air.

  92. 'Tis Himself says

    PZ, you should tell Kwok that for him to make amends for all the aggravation he’s caused you, he should buy you a new car. Tell him if he doesn’t, you’ll snitch on him to Ken Miller and to the principal of Stuyvesant High School. That’ll make him shake in his shoes.

  93. Fl blu, Custer had it coming says

    Posted by: Alex | April 5, 2009 6:50 PM
    Where is the threat of violence?

    This would be a great question to ask John Lennon…..
    Too bad he was killed for Jesus.

  95. Wowbagger, OM says

    This getting weird – What’s Opera, Doc? was the answer to a question at a Quiz Night I was at the other night (‘What was voted the most popular cartoon of all time?’) so I watched in on YouTube.

    And yeah, I think they’re right – it’s brilliant. Though I do tend to like the jazz-themed one about the wolf and the three little pigs a lot, too.

  96. 'Tis Himself says

    PZ, you should tell Kwok that for him to make amends for all the aggravation he’s caused you, he should buy you a new car. Tell him if he doesn’t, you’ll snitch on him to Ken Miller and to the principal of Stuyvesant High School. That’ll make him shake in his shoes.

  97. nick nick bobick says

    Perhaps Kwok is not so crazy (altho I think he is) as desperate for his name to go down in history regardless of whether it has a negative connotation or not.

    Contemporary example “bobbitized”; not so contemporary “chauvinist”.

    Based on his actions, “kwokking” could be a term to refer to any type of cyber stalking or any of the other absurd manner of threats he has made (facebook friends war: “Those two have been engaged in a kwok for months now”.

    It would be too bad if this happened since I am sure that there are lots of Kwoks who don’t deserve to have their name associated with such a complete and utter twit.

  98. says

    I don’t think Kwok or Mabus need hallucinogens in their water. They’ve lost all touch with reality long ago.

  99. astrounit says

    You know, that Kwok would provide fodder for several theses and entire lifetime careers for psychiatrists.

    He’s a whole field unto himself.

    I wonder what part of his brain harbors the friend fetish?

  101. Pharyngulette says

    I do tend to like the jazz-themed one about the wolf and the three little pigs a lot, too.

    (“You gotta get hot to play real cool!”)

    That’d be “The Three Little Bops”. Oh, how I love WB cartoons!

  102. Fred Mounts says

    Janine, Insulting Sinner

    If only PZ had a reason to title a thread What’s Opera, Kwok?

    Kill da wabbit,kill da wabbit!

    (It’s up to the individual to decide if Kwok is in fact da wabbit in question)

  103. genesgalore says

    ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! nothing like the first waxing moon of the spring to stir the soul and inspire the lips……..try US 2 through the upper peninsula of michigan at night for the next week. it will be a pinball arcade reflective eyeballs.

  104. Newfie says

    Perhaps we should just build a wall around him.

    While, I don’t condone making fun of one’s name, that is amusingly interesting..

    your’s truly,
    William Joseph James Robert Newfie

  105. debg says

    This guy is starting to worry me… like stalking material… anyone who obsesses this much about another person is worthy of concern. Maybe he should just be ignored and hopefully he’ll go away??

  106. Kimpatsu says

    Ha. It’s like when Warren and Andrew and Jonathan thought they were Buffy’s arch-nemeses.
    But don’t forget, they managed to do what The Master, Kakistos, and Glory could not: kill Tara Maclay.
    Not that I’m suggesting K(w)ook could ever kill PZ or his Trophy Wife(TM).

  108. Fl bluefish says

    P.Z., shouldn’t it be “amok?”
    Posted by: Ed Darrell | April 5, 2009 9:54 PM

    Doesn’t language work best when you can deliberately misspell words to make them mean more than they usually do..?

  109. Janine, Insulting Sinner says

    Kimpatsu, I am going to get very nitpicky here. The Master and Kakistos were killed before Tara arrived. And Glory could have just as easily killed Tara as sucking out her sanity.

    And it was Warren who murdered Tara, not Jonathan nor Andrew.

  110. says

    I can’t imagine the patience it requires to deal with someone like this.

    The good thing is his self sabotaging nature when he CCs others with his psychotic and juvenile ramblings. With any luck that will be his downfall.

  111. Janine, Insulting Sinner says

    Ed Darrell, I am sure that PZ meant “amuck”. Please check comment #73.

  112. Inky says

    John Kwok.
    The unrepentant dingleberry.

    You know, as soon as he was booted, I promptly just forgot about him.

    He sure is full of himself.

    I’ve no doubt that he’s just as charming in person.

  113. NewEnglandBob says

    I am tired of Kwok-ese.

    If I want more of it, I can just not flush my toilet for a few days, although it might be hard to match his stench.

  114. Holbach says

    Kwok and Mabus: Axe Men versus Ice Road Truckers. More intelligence in one leaf or icicle.

  115. Sven DiMilo says

    If you’re conducting a Facebook campaign against me, then it isn’t working.

    A “Facebook campaign”? Winner determined by direction of change of number of mutual Facebook “friends”? How stupid of me not to have thought of it.

  117. Julian says

    blf: Isn’t it odd how the kooks didn’t seem to mind Shrub warmly hugging the man every time he met him, but with Obama it is somehow sinister? I didn’t realize that The house of Saud were the good guys when Republicans were in the White House, and terrorists when Democrats were.

    Yet more evidence of the right’s uncritical disconnection from reality.

  118. Tulse says

    It is perfectly acceptable in standard English to use “amuck” instead of “amok”.

    Nonsense — Star Trek can’t be wrong!

  119. says

    I can see why, but for me it’s like a train wreck full of clowns. It’s sad and funny and I’ll keep watching for as long as the wreckage keeps piling up.

    This is my new favorite expression for this sort of thing.

    Ya know, standard internet protocol is to stop feeding the trolls. They’re like stray cats-the more you feed them, the harder it is to get rid of them.

  122. deang says

    One of the most painful things about Kwok’s rants are his over-reliance on cliches like “just for the record” and “nothing more, nothing less.” Beside the point, I know, but ugh …

  123. mds says

    That’s not the real PZ posting the skepdic link – note the lack of Typekey icon.

  124. Kimpatsu says

    Kimpatsu, I am going to get very nitpicky here. The Master and Kakistos were killed before Tara arrived. And Glory could have just as easily killed Tara as sucking out her sanity.

    And it was Warren who murdered Tara, not Jonathan nor Andrew.
    Glory failed to kill Tara. So did many other supervillains. And, yes, Warren was one of the Trio, wasn’t he? (I love the angle at which he shot, though. I wonder if it was him on the Grassy Knoll?)

  126. tomh says

    vespera wrote:
    As asinine as Kwok is, why is his header info in there?

    So if someone sends crazy email, there is a duty to protect them by not publishing the header info? Where is that nonsense written?

  127. clevedan says

    Kwok needs to discuss this matter with Abbie’s Dog Arnie

    (insert perplexed dog head tilt here)

  128. St. Tabby Lavalamp says

    vespera wrote:

    As asinine as Kwok is, why is his header info in there? He didn’t threaten PZ, just whined a lot and blew hot air.

    He was adequately warned…

    http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/03/john_kwok_sends_email.php

    At the end of that post…

    Since he does seem to be ramping up his demands, the next time I post one of his missives, it will include full contact information and IP addresses for Mr Kwok, as per my notice on the left sidebar.

  129. WhiteDove says

    Did someone spike the entire North American water supply with hallucinogens?

    No. You need to realize that most people just don’t a shit about this stuff. I meet plenty of intelligent folks who don’t know who David Mabus and James Randi are. It just isn’t important in these times.

  130. Ryan Cunningham says

    #36

    Not appropriate. Take your Trench-coat Mafia supporting version of concern-trolling elsewhere.

  132. XD says

    mathyoo #119:

    Ya know, standard internet protocol is to stop feeding the trolls. They’re like stray cats-the more you feed them, the harder it is to get rid of them.

    The standard protocol with stray cats where I live is:

    1. win their trust by feeding them;
    2. capture them;
    3. sterilise them, so they can’t reproduce.

    Just saying. ;-)

  133. John Morales says

    Alex @86, vespera @91, as the saying goes, quantity has a quality all of its own.
    Also, PZ previously wrote

    Since he does seem to be ramping up his demands, the next time I post one of his missives, it will include full contact information and IP addresses for Mr Kwok, as per my notice on the left sidebar.

    This is the next time.

    debg @105, he’s already dungeoned. Those are emails, not blog comments.

  134. clinteas says

    PZ,

    maybe its time to stop encouraging the Kwok by posting his emails on the blog?
    Yes his level of achieved insanity is by now impressive,but I think if he gets more threating he becomes FBI material,and otherwise we should just forget about him.
    As to mabus et al.,if people would just not fucking respond to their insane rants all the time,they would go away too.

  135. cyan says

    XD @ 132,

    Logical & humane protocol

    when applied both to feral cats and to internet trolls

    Protocol unfortunately not followed by all.

  136. chupa says

    kwok is still going on about facebook? ffs…

    i agree with any above post advocating the future ignoring of kwok entirely, he is the most irritating pro-evolution person I have ever had to suffer through online, and i look forward to the day when he is finally banned from every site I like to visit.

  137. Louis says

    Off I go for a weekend of fun, frolics and frivolity, Monday lunchtime I pop into Pharyngula to find kooks-a-popping, or at least that kooks have a-popped over the weekend.

    I was going to ask the question “Don’t people like John Kwok and Mabus have real lives?” and then I thought about it.

    And then I thought about a few other things, and the world was a better place.

    Louis

  138. says

    @#129 WhiteDove
    “I meet plenty of intelligent folks who don’t know who David Mabus and James Randi are. It just isn’t important in these times.”
    Well, I guess it is just an internet/blog thing. Those people are existent only on the internet, it seems.

  140. Harry P. says

    I forget, where did Kwok go to high school again?

    …

    And what has he done since?

  141. says

    @#97 nick nick bobick
    “Perhaps Kwok is not so crazy (altho I think he is) as desperate for his name to go down in history regardless of whether it has a negative connotation or not.”
    If this is so, apparently he thinks that being famous on Pharyngula will lead to some kind of worldwide fame… I don’t know.

  142. AnthonyK says

    I forget, where did Kwok go to high school again?

    Mr Kwok has been silent on the matter. He does not consider, such personal details to be relevant to the many important internet campaigns he runs.
    ;)

  143. says

    I know how amok/amuck is spelled. I also know about context: you use “amok” when you’re making a classic Star Trek reference, and “amuck” when you’re making a Daffy Duck reference.

    Ask yourself, which one is more appropriate when discussing John Kwok?

  146. clinteas says

    Testing whether blogger name can be spoofed so easily.

    Yes,we established that months ago.
    Not surprised that it hasnt been fixed yet either.

  147. T_U_T says

    Holy crap. It is really that easy. The typekey sign would be difficult, but otherwise, it works. The shade of gray is right the name is right… Enough to fool casual onlookers

  148. redwood says

    I’ve probably missed this somewhere because it’s so obvious that this guy is turning into a coo-coo kwok.

  149. SantaCruzOM says

    #55…+1

    Ahh..my very first and to date, most brilliant post on Pharyngula! I knew I’d make a big splash right away!

  151. catgirl says

    Whoa, Kwok needs to take a psych 101 course and learn the meaning of “projection”. He’s the one who started a (hilariously silly) Facebook campaign against PZ, not the other way around. Thanks for the laughs.

  152. Lenard says

    I hope you’re not thinking of having any thick, nourishing soup for lunch today, PZ.

    You know what they say about too many kooks…..

  153. JGG says

    I think the person who sent that e-mail has issues, of the psychological disorder kind.

  155. debaser says

    I also expect to have my posting privileges at Pharyngula reinstated

    I love when people say things like this. Its funny to watch peoples sense of entitlement shatter like frozen peanut brittle. Like, seriously? expect? is that supposed to be some sideways manner of asking to get your posting privileges back? And right on the heels of demanding an apology for “silly behavior”?

    Comments like that are great, people could sculpt words and ideas masterfully for days and still not give as stunning a demonstration of the fact that kwok DOESNT GET IT as the crap that normally falls out of his brain. Even after this whole big long sideshow, I would bet that kwok truly cannot understand that all he needed to do to survive the troll-culling was NOT POST. For real. For like a week. It’s like someone getting banned from a library for screaming all the time — naturally, kwok would be screaming for his library privileges to re-instated even as they’re dragging him out for screaming in the library again .

  156. says

    PZ if you’d rather buy me some camera equipment with the proceeds of the millions of clicks on this site I’ve been the source of over the last few years I have been looking at a new Nikon D700 and / or 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens.

    Just an idea. And think of how in a twist it would get Kwok’s shorts.

    If you need my address you’ve got my email.

  157. Der Bruno Stroszek says

    Kimpatsu, @124;

    And, yes, Warren was one of the Trio, wasn’t he? (I love the angle at which he shot, though. I wonder if it was him on the Grassy Knoll?)

    Are you suggesting we establish some sort of a Warren Commission?

  158. Ryan F Stello says

    I’m cc’ing Abbie on this only because I want her to start realizing how much of a jerk you’ve been…

    I don’t know about Abbie, but I’d feel pretty wahmbivalent about that.

  159. Aphrodine says

    Has ‘Kwok’ become a universal internet meme yet? Because I giggle to myself everytime I see the word. I imagine that it’s pronounced something like this:

    *raises arms up in the air and flails wildly*
    KKKWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAAAWWWWK!

    The movement of the arms is vital to achieve the correct vocal tones.

  160. Marion Delgado says

    “Dear” “Dr.” “P.Z.” “Meyers”:

    cf. i.e. etc. my response to your previous attack on John and his good name.

    Von Mises knew the day of people like you would approach, and warned us to make preparations. As taught me by Ayn Rand herself, you cannot see it, but I am making the Sign of the Dollar at you.

    You are merely a moderately well-known atheist blogger, and mid-level professor of squids at a Midwestern college.

    Meanwhile, John Kwok is a top 50 Amazon Reviewer!

  161. Marion Delgado says

    ambulocetus:

    before I embraced the truth of objectivism, i was taught that the taste of jesus is bittersweet. hence that question contains yet another pitfall for the teacher, I believe.

    Still, i would have given a better showing of myself than he did. Probably in a teacher’s union, is my guess.

  162. Wayne Robinson says

    I don’t understand. What has John Kwok done to deserve this much disdain? From what I have read of his postings, he seems reasonable, albeit a little too productive, and doesn’t seem to have much of a life outside of the cyberspace. He is one of the most active reviewers on Amazon, and I have just noticed that he has written a very good review of Jerry Coyne’s book “Why Evolution is True”, which itself has sparked a lively discussion.

  163. says

    Quantity does not equal quality. A scan of a sampling of the very active John Kwok’s reviews shows most of them to be overwritten, gushy drivel full of unearned superlatives and recycled adjectives (see, for example, his ‘review’ of Space Chimps). And yes, he does in some of his reviews the same irritating name-dropping he engaged in on the comments section of this blog.

    The last would be something you seem to have missed in your undoubtably thin skimming of his postings, along with his unearned sense of entitlement, his stalking, and the incompetent attempt at extortion that has been demonstrated and documented across four or five different postings.

  164. David Marjanović, OM says

    I really love the lively and humorous community of Pharyngula that you have created!

    He hasn’t created it.

    It has evolved.

    =8-)

    PZ wouldn’t have to ban people if Pharyngulytes were not such obsessive troll feeders.

    The idea is to feed the troll till it chokes or explodes or something. That’s more fun, you see. Dance, trollboy! Dance! :-)

  166. Marion Delgado says

    Wayne:

    Kwok’s a deluded market fundie. Go ahead, get him away from Amazon and twit him about capitalism not being science, or not working perfectly, and see how he reacts. He’s also a ‘net Drama Queen from wayback with a strong penchant for trying to pit people against each other, and an unhealthy obsession with status. He accepts evolution, and good for him. But like other market fundies, he wants more than a cookie for that simple fact, he wants us to dig up Ayn Rand and go down on her corpse behind the stands at a Rush concert.

    That all being said, I doubt PZ was exactly equating him with Mabus, who’s the complete package – probably genuinely insane, and definitely robotically contemptuous of the entire net – a cross between a penis cream spammer and Brainbeau.

    Kwok is neither certifiably insane nor a DOS-attack-level spammer – but he does let his fixed ideas lead him to crazy vendettas, hence his inclusion in the “full moon” post.