I almost never comment on the people that I come across on the web. Frankly, there are just too many loonies and maladjusted individuals out there to bother wasting time on them. However, there was one individual (a teacher, by profession) who really caught my eye this month. She posts on a popular Internet forum, and she raised quite a ruckus. I don't know her by name, but she goes by the pseuedonym of "Rubystreak."

I first suspected that something was awry when somebody said that she was "misguided" and she went ballistic. Apparently, she considered that to be some grave and severe insult. Now, I don't know about you, but it seems to me that there's nothing harsh about being described in that fashion. This is a fairly charitable term, in my judgment; after all, even bright, competent people can be misguided on occasion.

She raised further hell when she reported some other poster to the moderators for allegedly misquoting her. A moderator investigated the matter, found that no misquoting had occurred (she had been paraphrased, which is entirely different), and promptly slapped Rubystreak down for her hotheaded behavior.

Frankly, I think the scolding was well-deserved. Grown adults don't go crying to parental figures in the face of such conflict, even when their intentions are misconstrued. On occasion, they may indeed report abusive behavior, but only when clear and unambiguous breaches of conduct occur. Rubystreak definitely stood out in that regard. There were many strongly voiced opinions in that forum, but her particular level of vitriol was unmistakably high. (Additionally, as an educator, she should have known the difference between quoting and paraphrasing. I sure hope that she's not an English teacher!)

There is much more that could be said about her actions, but such things are best left alone. Suffice to say that I've seen some pretty abrasive people on the 'net, but she definitely stands out from the pack.