I just know that r.s. is going to castigate me (I hope I have chosen the correct word; wouldn’t want to give her any ideas) for putting Open Salon in the title of this piece, but I don’t know how else to describe the content. If I said “Who Hates Whom on Hollywood Squares,” it would misrepresent  the true message.

I have always been a methodical, details-oriented guy, and it has carried me far. Look at me now: writing to a usually hostile readership on Open Salon and receiving not a penny for my efforts.

But in the wake of the weekend dustup that centered on Candace’s blog attack on Matt Paust and FusunA, and Matt’s reply, I felt that my methodical self could make an important contribution to the OS archives.  Some time ago I thought it would be nice to compile a volume listing the names of all OS writers and commenters, with all information known about them, and publish it as “Who’s Who on Open Salon.”

After the weekend dustup – which eventually took on the proportions of a Sahara storm – I decided that what people here would really want is a compendium of hatred. There is a lot of hatred between people on this site, perhaps in most cases between people who have never met or even spoken with each other.

The article by femme forte aka Candace, entitled “Multiple Personalities on OS,” got all this started. (See http://open.salon.com/blog/femme_forte/2012/08/10/multiple_personalities_on_os_-_shadowland_for_fun_and_profit_1) In this piece, Candace presented evidence that she feels shows that Matt Paust and FusunA, two prominent OS contributors, have used phony alternate OS accounts to attack other writers they dislike, and to boost the number of ratings they receive on their own posts.

Matt then posted a response of sorts, entitled “Kiss my candy ass,” in which he insisted that he was being bullied by Candace and many of those who left comments on her post. (See http://open.salon.com/blog/matt_paust/2012/08/12/kiss_my_candy_ass)

Both those posts received thousands of views and oodles of comments. And by and large the writers of those comments were not shy. A huge number of them have decided that they hate Matt and Fusun. Others took the opportunity to express, or renew, their hatred of other commenters.

A true compendium of hatred on OS would require far more research than I am willing to do. It would require going back and looking at every piece ever written for OS, and every comment left on those pieces. There is a rich mine of hatred to be plumbed by such research, and I  hope that other researchers will add to the foundation I am establishing here.

Here, for now, is what I have determined about hatred between OSers, garnered strictly from Candace’s and Matt’s posts.

In some cases, commenters have expressed sorrow at what they feel they have learned from these posts, but have not declared outright hatred against Matt, Fusun or anyone else. I have not absorbed such comments into the hate list.

In other cases, I have found it difficult to understand exactly what it is that a commenter might really be saying. We all know that that is a common problem on OS.

It also is possible that comments that smack of hatred to me are not really intended as such. In those cases, I apologize to anyone whom I have misinterpreted, and hope you will correct me in the comments section below.

Without further ado, here is the list, with the name of the hater placed first, and the hated coming next. (It goes without saying that if someone hates someone else, the hatred carries over to any alternates  the hated ones might have on OS. But I am saying it anyway.)

I would like to propose that these OSers be organized into two teams, with each member of each team handed a battle-axe. Let them have at the ones they hate until members of only one team are left standing. This would be an excellent way to get Open Salon into the news, which seldom happens, and it might stimulate interest among potential new OS members.

In case anyone is wondering whom I hate: I hate you all, except Tink.

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P.S.: I am getting feedback from people on the list who say their feelings in some cases do not amount to hatred. I also am keeping  an eye on the continually evolving situation in the comments sections of the two posts I cited. I am making changes to the text as warranted.

P.S. 2: I  have gutted -- oops, edited -- the material in this post to eliminate any suggestion that any specific person on Open Salon hates anyone else. If you like to sing while you read, may I recommend the Barney Song. I have left the rest of the text unaltered, however, because I think it was kind of funny, if I must say so myself. I have not entirely deleted the post, as one person suggested, for that reason, and also because it attracted some priceless comments that mustn't be denied to future generations.