>>>>With regard to the other, however, I don't think you should stoop to the same sort of behaviour we all have found so disreputable. Stay standing. Don't crawl in the muck.
>>>>
>>>>Alan, I agree with you 100%.
>>>>
>>>>Peter, while I can understand where you're coming from, I would take Alan's advice. In this instance, two wrongs don't make a right. Sure, being an MVP is a nice thing, a very nice thing - but being an MVP doesn't automatically mean that one is honorable, and one doesn't need to be an MVP to have honor.
>>>
>>>I agree that being honorable isn't an official selection criterium. But I presume that being (or rather, acting) dishonorable towards one or more community members is not a plus. To be selected as an MVP the perception must be that this person is widely accepted and appreciated in the community for the technical help AND for the social behavior. The amount of money one donates to third world countries or the help given to poor people in the neighborhood is not of importance here. If that were the case, the corps of MVPs would at least in part consist of others.
>>>
>>>Having said that, what's wrong/dishonorable with complaining? Here we're not only praising each other but also regularly complaining. Is that a bad thing in itself? Or do you regard sending in a complaint as dishonorable a priori? I sent in two complaints to Foxite's GodKing. Was that dishonorable of me? Or does it start to be dishonorable if sent to MS? At what point does it become dishonorable? Why was what AK did dishonorable? In my opinion it was not a priori dishonorable to complain. Even sending a complaint to one's employer can sometimes be 'understandable'. But IMO it was dishonorable to send this type of complaint to her employer.
>>>
>>>Would it be dishonorable of Naomi if SHE sent in such a complaint to MS? If not, would it be dishonorable of others if they sent a message to MS in support of her?
>>>
>>>Two wrongs don't make it right, indeed. But first I want to hear the arguments WHY it's wrong to file a complaint to MS, in THIS case.
>>
>>What makes a complaint honourable or dishonourable is the spirit in which it is presented and the reason for it. If I buy a book and get ink all over my hands because of a bad print run, sure I'll complain, but it won't be with the end in mind of costing somebody's reputation or position. If I'm in a store and am severely insulted by an employee with a bad attitude, I might well complain because it was done to me and the store manager should know about it. Your complaint in this case is aimed at costing someone either reputation or postion (or both) for an action that really has nothing to do with you. Such a complaint as you are contemplating, it seems to me, is not done in any more pure spirit than the complaint sent about Naomi. I see them both as exhibiting similar levels of baseness. The degree may differ slightly, but I'm not big on measuring those sorts of actions by degrees of meanness.
>>
>>If you are happy that the spirit of your complaint is pure, then go for it. There is nothing I can tell you to change your thinking, but since you asked my opinion, then there is it. I think it's a bad idea.
>
>I suppose you're not of opinion that only those who are the real victim are in a position to file a complaint and that all other people should keep their mouth shut. But I need to know for sure whether that's really what you think, because you literally write: ... that really has nothing to do with you.
>
>About my, what you call, spirit: My personal professional interest is zero, in a practical sense. This can probably not be said about many MANY others. Esp. many other MVPs know darn well that they will at times still have to meet their two fellow gurus (for example, tomorrow in Frankfurt, Germany) and at least smalltalk will have to remain a 'nice encounter'. They have an interest in acting as more or less neutral persons. How about their spirit?

How they act is entirely up to their own consciences. How I act is up to mine. Somebody (I can't recall who) said once that there is no such thing as 'reaction', only 'action', and we are all responsible for our own actions. In other words, nobody forces you to behave in a certain way. How we behave is strictly on our own heads.

>
>I decided to side with Naomi because I regard what happened to her as unjust. Must my concern about injustice stop where real action starts?

I also regard it as unjust, but if Naomi isn't going to do anything about it, then it's not up to me (or you) to act in her place. Has she requested your help in this?