*Horribly out-of-place sensible answer*
Bella is one of the few B3tans to have been given a rougher ride upon her arrival on /OT than me or Bobby, due to the twin crimes of sleeping with AA and allowing herself to be riled by merciless trolling by various other board members, most notably Rory, Monty and Swipe.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:39, 2 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

And her unfortunate mix
of high-handedness and bias.
( Kroney, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:40, Reply)

So it's okay for her to be bullied for having an opinion and arguing it logically
but when Monty spouts his usual shit, which he's equally serious about, that gets no comment.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:48, Reply)

I've never taken Monty's shit especially seriously.
So, no, I don't particularly have a problem with it.
( Kroney, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:52, Reply)

Al makes a good point
When unprovoked, Bella had various serious-but-polite political discussions with other B3tans, including disasterpone who's entirely opposite her in the political spectrum. She had as much right to make her voice heard as anyone.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:52, Reply)

but she wasn't funny
or not intentionally so. and this isn't a serious-but-polite place.

those of us with difficult jobs get more than enough of being serious-but-polite and come here for anything but! she didn't fit in and she didn't try.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:55, Reply)

I'm not funny either
and can take somethings very seriously. I wouldn't like to be picked day and night for that.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 14:57, Reply)

you're very funny

( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:02, Reply)

Hahaha
You made me laugh there.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 15:07, Reply)

This ^

(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:07, Reply)

Granted, B3ta proved to not be her ideal forum
My point was that on various occasions when she was trying to conduct a serious conversation she was always interrupted by somebody with nothing better to do than poke her with an internet stick for their own lolz
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:59, Reply)

but that's B3TA!
if she wanted a serious conversation, there were millions (and i mean literally millions) of better places to take her preaching!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:02, Reply)

I know, you're right on that one
B3ta was not the place for Bella, unless she was happy to keep her political arguments separate from geekery and bitching. But Al and Chompy frequently talk politics, you can hardly expect her not to wade into the conversation any more than I'm likely to abstain from a discussion about football
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:07, Reply)

but she was a one-trick pony really
whereas chompy and al talk about lots of stuff.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:23, Reply)

Again, I disagree with you
Not about Al or Chompy, but I never talk to Bella about politics and we get along brilliantly. If you're claiming that you never noticed Bella discussing Doctor Who then you clearly made a point of wilfully ignoring said posts, or have selective myopia.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:26, Reply)

i can safely say
that anything about dr who from anyone would have fallen beneath my radar, as i've never seen it.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:31, Reply)

You can hardly say anyone is a one-trick pony then
If your radar doesn't pick up things of no interest to you
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:43, Reply)

We all have our own sticks to be poked with, though.
Some vary in severity, cruelty and accuracy of fact. And it's not like she's the only one having their political views criticised- look at Amberl.
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:02, Reply)

yes
al is a complete cunt to amberl half the time on that score. i have noticed this.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:02, Reply)

If she didn't have such stupid views
it wouldn't be an issue.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:07, Reply)

you think they are stupid
other people think YOU are stupid

next!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:09, Reply)

I've never been a cunt to Amberl
I've only ever called out her opinion because I strongly disagree with them, I've never made it personal or abused her (other than the clearly tongue in cheek insinuation that she holds extreme right wing views).
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:12, Reply)

actually
more than once i have read your posts to amberl and thought "lay off her al, that's just fucking rude now." but amberl doesn't complain or wince or mince or flounce.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:17, Reply)

note Al, I don't think you're a cunt or anything
I was just using your exchanges with Amberl to show it's not just Bella's views that are criticised.
( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:17, Reply)

oh come on though
he totally is a cunt, he loves being a cunt!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:21, Reply)

Yes
But you keep it in politics with her. With Bella, for what I see here, people went into her sexual life too (maybe not you, I don't know) and I bet every time she tried to talk, politics or sex against her would be the only reply she had.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 15:09, Reply)

it's because we wanted her to STOP talking
and it worked!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:10, Reply)

But that's because she broadcast it
it's very hard to take someone seriously when they've told you a rotten fact about their period. I'd like to think that even though Al and me disagree politically, that my personal life has no bearing on the situation
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:45, Reply)

I can't argue with this at all
Good point
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:05, Reply)

She bites, that's her problem, simple
Don't bite and you'll be left alone-ish
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:42, Reply)

I thought it'd be something like that
the slag blog probably didn't help, but I don't think being a slag is something bad, especially if you do it by choice.

Even if you don't bite, some trolling can get boring sometimes. DF doesn't bite and he keeps been called gay all the time.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 14:45, Reply)

There was no slag blog
that was just a lie.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:46, Reply)

I see
Well, I feel quite bad for her, right now.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 14:48, Reply)

sorry
but there really was. it was called something like "the adventures of belladonna" and it was all about some guy she was leading on by sleeping with him but she didn't want a relationship. it was pretty cringey!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:57, Reply)

^^^^^^^^THIS

( Light In Chains maker of the ikea sofa, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:59, Reply)

She didn't have a slag blog
It's a political blog, Rory was trolling her in absentium. I don't bite any more but I certainly used to.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:47, Reply)

I think you're doing very well
Those jokes sometimes get to my nerves, even if only because they became so boring. I don't know how you cope sometimes.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 14:50, Reply)

Depends who's doing it
In a lot of cases I know now that it's good-humoured. If it's Rory or Bert I know it's because they've got nowt better to do.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:55, Reply)

Good way of looking at it
You're a lot more patient than me, though.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 14:57, Reply)

You don't need to be patient
You're lovely and well-liked
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:59, Reply)

Well, thank you
I'm glad I'm not interesting enough for people to pick on me all the time.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 15:03, Reply)

It is possible to be interesting AND well-liked!
Look at Mont... oh.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:04, Reply)

oi, less of that about my father

( Lampito rise with the moon, go to bed with the sun, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:08, Reply)

Easy target innit
Also, he is well-liked (to the best of my knowledge), and consistently funny. Raw, unfettered jealousy, that's all I've got.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:10, Reply)

That's not entirely true in her case
For one thing the way in which certain people went after her was relentless. There comes a point where not biting ceases to be sensible and just becomes cowardly. For another, she was never left alone, even when she didn't bite.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:45, Reply)

Right
I do feel bad for her, definetily.
(Aberracion Life's getting very complicated, but a lot of fun., Tue 10 May 2011, 14:49, Reply)

she's the only person i've ever done it to
there was just something so unbearably arrogant and pretentious about her, when she only had her own opinion to preach and no life or professional experience whatsoever.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:54, Reply)

You were well harsh
And if those were really your reasons, you didn't make them very clear.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:56, Reply)

she needs to grow up
she sits on here whining about how she can't get a job in law because of the system when she's sooooo bright and sooo talented and soooo academic... dude, if she had a braincell and really wanted to be a lawyer, she could have gazzed me. i could have got her a hefty leg-up with work experience in the city or manchester, or checked her cv, or anything.

but no. she'd rather whine about it ONLINE and how only the people who know people get anywhere in life. then she didn't use the lead she had. zero initiative = lousy lawyer, in my experience. so she deserved to be challenged. also her high-handed manner put my back right up. all fart and no poo.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:00, Reply)

We told a guy once to use his initiative.
He asked us how to do that. He didn't last.
( Kroney, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:02, Reply)

Did you make that apparent to her, though?
It's no good justifying yourself after the fact. She was about as likely to gaz you asking for a favour as I am to pay Chompy a compliment on his erudite wit based on your attitude towards her. Your arguments may have been more well-founded than they appeared at the time but they came across as little more than vicious sniping.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:04, Reply)

Swipeys arguments have never been well founded.

(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:04, Reply)

i'm not trying to justify myself though
i'm saying she's irritating. therefore she irritated me. therefore i was rude to her.

the rest is just detail.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:08, Reply)

That's fine, but you didn't write that above
you tried to justify the fact that she was singled out for far harsher treatment that other people when in fact it was just you taking a dislike to her.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:10, Reply)

they are 2 different things though
1 is my comments to her, aka my "vicious sniping" (i've never been called vicious before, i'm perversely quite pleased). 2 is my opinion of her. 1 does not necessarily reflect 2, and vice versa.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:13, Reply)

That makes no sense Swipey
and as a lawyer you should be ashamed. There reason you were nasty to her, and the reason you consider it justified to be nasty to her was because you didn't like her plain and simple, but when called out you just attempted to justify that behaviour by pointing out character flaws, which whilst probably true, still had nothing to do with your reasons behind bullying her.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:17, Reply)

i don't see why you think i need it to be justified
i have explained why i disliked her to DF as he queried it. but that's not justification.

it's a public board, i'll post what i like!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:21, Reply)

The reason I think you need to justify it
is the fact that you did try and justify it. If from the very start you had just said, I find her annoying and therefore I'm rude to her, then fine. That's pretty much the whole ethos of b3ta, but you didn't.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:22, Reply)

nobody asked!
it wasn't even that thought out. i read her stuff, thought "what a load of arseshit", and replied.

if DF is now going to ask me why, them's the reasons, but basically if you post something annoying and irritating (and i have quite a few gazzes from people saying "omg she is such a tit"), people will get annoyed and irritated. there's probably also hundreds of other reasons i forget now - might have been having a bad day, or too hot in the office, or scratchy underwear - none of it's relevant.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:25, Reply)

You know "the lurkers support me in email"
has been sung to the tune of "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean" for a good 20 years or so, right?
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:43, Reply)

Trolling someone off the board because they annoy you is most unbecoming
Chompy annoys the fuck out of me but I don't persecute him because I appreciate it's just difference of opinion.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:12, Reply)

ha, come on
there is no way that bella left because of me, so you can't say i "trolled her off the board". lots of people were rude to her.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:15, Reply)

Yes they were, as I mentioned above
But you were chief perpetrator and have claimed in this very thread that part of the reason why you did it was "because we wanted her to stop talking". I just want you to take responsibility for your actions.
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:21, Reply)

oh hardly!
i think we only had 2 or 3 exchanges.

but i am quite happy to admit i was rude to her. and about her. she can't expect to have strong opinions without exciting an equally strong reaction, and she was being deliberately provocative by saying things like 'woohoo, off to smash up london" - therefore she deserved to be provoked.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:29, Reply)

Your first point is absolute bollocks
The way you went after her was perhaps more starkly obvious because, as you say, you don't troll people all the time like Rory does, but you were still more guilty of it than anyone else. You're quite right that Bella was provocative but you didn't need to go after her on a personal level. You could have, I dunno, suggested that her politics was deliberately provocative and asked her motivation, rather than criticising her appearance and deliberately attempting to rile her
(Darth Foxtrot A one-man army dedicated to making fetch happen, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:42, Reply)

Whereas you, you're the exact opposite of arrogance and pretentiousness.
Don't try and claim the moral high ground Swipey, you were being a bitch just because you disagreed with her politics, but then you brought in personal remarks too.
(Bazongaloid, Tue 10 May 2011, 14:59, Reply)

only in response!
politics are one thing, but being so gleeful and smug about the protests which were going to ruin people's day and cost the economy a fortune... no. she deserved it.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Tue 10 May 2011, 15:01, Reply)