After its recent emergence in the thread "How to calculate increase of home wireless router range?", readers of this group may find this useful. [based on a post in comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage]
Who or What is Rod Speed?
Rod Speed is an entirely modern phenomenon. Essentially, Rod Speed is an insecure and worthless individual who has discovered he can enhance his own self-esteem in his own eyes by playing "the big, hard man" on the InterNet.
Rod is believed to be from Australia.
Rod certainly posts a lot. Why is that?
It relates back to the point about boosting his own self esteem by what amounts to effectively having a wank in public. Rod's personality, as exemplified by his posts, means he is practically unemployable which means he sits around at home all day festering away and getting worse and worse. This means he posts more and more try and boost the old failing self esteem. Being unemployed also means he as a lot of time on his hands to post in he first place.
But maybe Rod really is a very clever and knowledgable person?
Clever? His posts wouldn't support that theory. As far as being knowledgable, well, Rod has posted to various aus newsgroups including invest, comms, and politics. He has posted to all as a self professed "expert" and flames any and all who disagree with him. Logically, here's no way any single individual could be more than a jack of all trades across such a wide spread of subject matter.
But maybe Rod really is an expert in some areas?
Possibly. However, his "bedside manner" prevents him from being taken seriously by most normal people. Also, he has damaged his credibility in areas where he might know what he's on about by shooting his self in the foot in areas where he does not. For example, in the case of subject matter such as politics, even a view held by Albert Einstein cannot be little more than an opinion and to vociferously denigrate an opposing opinion is simply small mindedness and bigotry, the kind of which Einstein himself fought against his whole life.
What is Rod Speed's main modus operandi?
Simple! He shoots off a half brained opinion in response to any other post and touts that opinion as fact. When challenged, he responds with vociferous and rabid denigration. He has an instantly recognisable set of schoolboy put downs limited pretty much to the following: "Pathetic, Puerile, Little Boy, try harder, trivial, more lies, gutless wonder, wanker, etc etc". The fact that Rod has been unable to come up with any new insults says a lot about his outlook and intelligence.
But why do so many people respond to Rod in turn?
It has to do with effrontery and a lack of logic. Most people who post have some basis of reason for what they write and when Rod retorts with his usual denigration and derision they respond emotionally rather than logically. It's like a teacher in a class room who has a misbehaving pupil. The teacher challenges the pupil to explain himself and the student responds with "f*ck off, Big Nose!" Even thought the teacher has a fairly normal proboscis, he gets a dent in his self-esteem and might resort to an emotional repsonse like "yeah? well your dick wouldn't fill a pop rivet, punk", which merely invites some oneupmanship from the naughty pupil. Of course, the teacher should not have justified the initial comment with a response, especially in front of the class. The correct response was "please report to the headmaster's office right NOW!"
What is a "RodBot"?
Some respondents in aus.invest built a "virtual Rod" which was indiscernable from the "real" Rod. Net users could enter an opinion or even a fact and the RoDBot would tell them they were pathetic lying schoolboys who should be able to do better or some equally pithy Rod Speedism.
Are you saying that Rod Speed is a Troll?
You got it!
What is the best way to handle Rod Speed?
KillFile!