Annabella of Future Fabulous! wrote:
I always thought that some of the Katie hatred was the perception that she was hated in the Asylum and the desire for many people in the OOT to emulate Asylumites.
I doubt that. The Katie hate was exaggerated far beyond anything she earned, but I don't think OOTers were desperate to fit in with Asylumites. Both groups did it for the same reason; they wanted someone to hate.
People on the internet are bored and picking on someone is mildly entertaining. Like an aneurysm, a single flaw gives way to a tide of trouble. Katie's mistake was giving people an opportunity. It's not enough just to attack someone; it has to be both worth it and the individual has to react, and so the insults and negative attitudes increase towards the extreme. It's not enough for Katie to be a mildly bad poster, she has to be terrible, and if we keep saying she is terrible, maybe she'll do something interesting.
Tailmon is receiving the same treatment at the moment. The typical reaction if they bit this long is to turn the antagonism into some sort of badge of pride, that the forum doesn't simply dislike this person but utterly loathes them. Katie dealt with it well, Tailmon less so.
Edited, Feb 4th 2010 12:22pm by Allegory 
