James Neighbor

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, image is Wilson from "Home Improvement," the neighbor who never showed his face.

Here's why I'm skeptical of this new James Neighbor blog and profile.  In its inaugural post, he immediately references "James K," most likely JACC board member James Kpoto.  Last summer and fall when the NoMi blog wars were at a fever pitch, someone had been going around leaving comments pretending to be James Kpoto.  So right off the bat I'm leery.  And out of all the almost limitless blog posts or controversies to choose from in NoMi, what becomes the touchstone for James Neighbor?  The infamous "White Baby" video by Don Allen (that Don took down but not before Johnny Northside preserved it).

Now it may be just my opinion, but I sincerely doubt that the White Baby video mattered much at all to anyone other than John, Don, and a handful of the staunchest bloggers on each side of the NoMi blog wars.  And I find it even more unlikely that some NoMi newbie would see that as emblematic of...well, anything.

Then, after my comment last night, which was posted at 10:51 p.m. on April 25, James Neighbor did a post at 9:41 p.m. that same night, lamenting being a suspected troll.  On Blogger, one can rather easily manipulate the time stamping on a post.  To the best of my knowledge though, the time at which a comment is posted cannot be altered.  I most certainly did not alter when my comment appeared, and 10:51 is the accurate time for that.

NoMi Passenger pretty much called James Neighbor out for a stroll to meet him/her/them in person.  I won't quite go that far.  Perhaps he/she/they wish to remain anonymous for a while, and I can certainly respect that.  James Neighbor, if you're legit then keep on doing what you want in the way you want to and things will all even out.  And just remember NoMi bloggers have been burned before, and have had to deal with a variety of impersonators.  Commenters have assumed identities that aren't theirs, created fake personas, and even gone under screen names full of sexual innuendo a la a Bart Simpson prank call.

And this is why, right or wrong, I trust the Area Hawkman and Area Neighbor sites more than James Neighbor.  I have no clue who either are, but I do know that AH/AN have a clear goal in mind:  mock the anti-bloggers when necessary.  They believe in it and stick to it.  JN, do the same, and you'll get credibility here.  And if you're not legit, you'll have to be a hell of a lot more sneaky to fool anyone here.

Finally, I'll continue to publish James Neighbor comments on this blog for the time being.  In spite of my suspicions, I'd rather err on the side of an open dialogue.