This watchblogging lark, it's clearly catching

Never let it be said that we are alone in taking an interest in the bizarre little world of Holocaust Denial. Nor that we are the only ones to take part in the spectator-sport of watchblogging, a term that if it doesn't already exist, should definitely be invented. Let's see what Google has to say: okay, 251 hits, people are claiming they invented it first, but it came to me entirely independently. Honest. Who the hell cares anyhow?

Ahem. Anyway... Just when you thought the dust had settled from the discovery of our mirror-blog CODOH Watch, along comes
Xcalibur and takes watchblogging to a new level: RODOH Watch.

As he writes in his opening post:

RODOH stands for Real Open Debate of the Holocaust(*). Yes, there are some folks out there in internetland who don't believe in Nazi gas chambers, Einsatzgruppen killings and such-like. The site's owner is an amiable Holocaust denier from Arizona called Scott Smith. He would probably prefer to be thought of as a "Revisionist". Scott doesn't like Nazi gas chambers unless they were used for fumigation puposes. No homicidal gas chambers in Scott's world. You might be tempted to ask at this point, "Hey Xcalibur, is Scott an anti-semite"? Hmm. More on that at some future date. Scott does like free speech, however. And so he is a champion of David Irving, Ernst Zundel, Germar Rudolph and other Holocaust Deniers who have run afoul of the laws of distant lands which prohibit such denial. I agree with Scott on this point but not necessarily for the same reasons. Anyway, he runs RODOH as a free speech forum.

Free Speech. Interesting concept that. A value to be held dear. Yet the practicalities of it are often not so lofty as the notion. This is the essence of RODOH's problem: How does one maintain a free speech forum on the internet and yet deal with all the mental patients, day-dreamers, idiots, cranks, fucktards, trolls, morons, anti-semites, fools, and garden-variety motherfuckers who make up a slice of the human population who would really be better off exiled to their own island? Madagascar, anyone? Since it is RODOH's problem, it is Scott's problem. And up 'til very recently he hasn't dealt with it. Last week he has begun to take baby-steps toward moderating the boards. Unfortunately Scott decided to announce long ago that he would never ban anyone from the boards on a permanent basis. Sounds good, for a free speech forum. On the other hand, Scott painted himself into a corner with this announcement. This is good news for Scott's nemesis, Jonnie A. Hargis, aka "Hannover" of the CODOH forum. Jonnie doesn't like free speech. In fact, he's a racist, fascist cunt and runs his forum accordingly. And he'd love to see Scott forced into banning someone permanently from RODOH. So Scott is boxed: He forgot that one of the basic rules of strategy is that you never announce to your opponent what you "never" intend doing.

Indeed. We look forward to seeing what Xcalibur makes of 'the antics of the mental patients inhabiting the RODOH forum', and who he diagnoses as deranged. Who will feel his barbs? Stay tuned to find out. Now all that remains is for Xcalibur and us to blogroll each other and the incestuous circle will be complete....