This message was self-deleted by its author

[winter is coming]

291. This is what I'm seeing in that thread:

1. MIRTer #1 posts an OP about a PM he's received about DUer X. The suspicion is that X might be a well-known troll. He suggests an IP check and says he'll go off to look at posts.

2. There's a few posts confusing X with a different DUer, due to a brain fart. That's quickly cleared up.

3. Some MIRTers think X could be a sock/zombie; others don't. None of them object to an IP check, as it will do no harm to X if he/she isn't a zombie.

4. You wonder who keeps sending emails accusing DUers of being this troll, and say, "Seems a bit conspiratorial to me," which implies there's some sort of conspiracy and that the OP might be in on it. I don't think that's what you meant, but I can see how it could be read that way.

5. MIRTer #2 points out that they get PMs about possible zombies often, and this troll is someone who's known to return frequently. You respond by saying, no, I've seen similar emails before, and they seem to be from the same person. You believe that any new member who posts something feminist gets that type of attention. MIRTer #1 says this is the first one he's gotten, and you respond by saying that you've seen a similar message 3 or 4 times over the course of 1.5 MIRT terms.

8. MIRTer #3 says they've gotten PMs about this troll, although not on this occasion, and that the sender is someone they trust who is a good troll-hunter (i.e., not someone working an agenda). You ask who it is, and they say they have no idea who sent the DUmail being discussed here, but that only one person has ever sent PMs about this troll to them.

9. MIRTer #4 points out some internal evidence indicating that the post (since self-deleted, but MIRTer #4 remembers it as not being troll-worthy) that was mentioned in the DUmail is two weeks old; why would someone wait two weeks to express their concern?

10. MIRTer #1 responds by saying that the two week delay is on him, due to real life issues (that MIRT was aware of as it was happening). Five minutes after that response, he self-deletes the thread, saying he has no idea the thread would cause any problems, and that he really didn't like the third degree he'd gotten over that.

Looking at the order and timing of the posts, I'm not sure why you think the "third degree" remark refers solely or even primarily to the posts you made, two hours or more before the self-delete was done. It looks like it had a lot more to do with questions about the delay in timing.

And nowhere in any of that do I see someone advocating a ban based on the accusation that X is a zombie of a known troll. What is being advocated is an IP check, which is commonly done for suspected returnees of any of our frequent flyers. I'm not sure why you're so convinced that the person sending PMs about this troll is malicious, as opposed to merely being experienced at recognizing a troll who keeps returning to HOF.