Why do we only want people around here to be able to post if they can handle being made fun of and having so much off-topic stuff in their threads?
Well, Dominion is a game, and the point is to have fun, and f.ds is a lot of fun, so I guess in the end it's about having fun! Also ironic that the company carrying online Dominion is called "Making Fun"...
But there is a huge difference between belittling mockery and good-natured banter. To some degree this is in the eye of the beholder. That's why during sexual harassment education (mandatory for my workplace), it's only harassment if it continues after the person has requested the behavior to stop.
Now that actually DID go on in this thread!! And I think most of us can tell that GOON GARDEN pretty much asked for it with his tone. But is that trolling? I take trolling to mean that the whole goal of posting is just to stir the pot and get your jollies getting a bunch of replies when your feelings were never hurt in the first place.
More likely, I think GOON GARDEN actually thought he played a board particularly well, and has a pattern of using BM-style strategies to overcome King's Court, and so concluded that maybe the community overvalues KC. However, instead of presenting it in an inquisitory, hypothesis-generating fashion, came across like he was hot stuff and everyone should lavish him with praise. Not unlike how the infamous ErrinF came across with Dominion: Gunpowder!
I argue that people who are full of themselves, want praise from a community of experts, have an arrogant attitude BUT clearly have no insight as to how their behavior comes across, are in a very dangerous situation. They need to be carefully redirected until they themselves see the error of their ways. Many would argue that sarcasm and even outright put-down is the quickest and best way to that endpoint, and if the person doesn't "get it" and just digs their heels in, well eff them, the rest of us will get a good laugh out of it. I argue (I think in agreement with AdamH?) that a kind approach is better until the person defines themself as truly ill-willed.
In retrospect, GOON GARDEN probably really is ill-willed at heart, but having been in his shoes in other arenas IRL, when blind to how stupidly arrogant you are vis-a-vis the community at whole, all sarcastic responses do is cause you to put up an emotional wall and escalate the situation. Much better is to put the unwritten rules right out there and then maybe a warning if violated beyond that.
And my apologies, this probably should be in General Discussion because it is also off topic related to King's Court. So as an on-topic finisher, I had a game yesterday with a potential engine and looked at and said to myself "self, then engine is too finicky and involves too many Rats, so maybe a modified BM is just better"...and won!! So thanks GOON GARDEN and f.ds for improving my play one game at a time