[Mike Haven]

I was staying out of this because I've been on good pm/e-mail terms with lorinda for four or five years, and know bits and pieces about lorinda's real life, although lorinda has always been a very private person both on and off the boards.

If you look at lorinda's posting history, you will see that although people try to hit on lorinda every now and then, lorinda will NEVER respond in a sexual way. The ONLY indication that lorinda is female is the name lorinda, and, of course, the avatar.

Obviously, I know lorinda's real name and sex, but I am not going to state what I know, as this is confidential information given to me because of our friendly relationship.

I have not been in touch with lorinda over this matter, and it does seem like a bit of an over-reaction, to me, and I can't explain why it has become such a big deal to lorinda on this occasion.

I accept fully that if lorinda prefers that everyone thinks lorinda is female, that's lorinda's prerogative in a largely anonymous internet forum.

lorinda is a very intelligent person, and, (although I didn't tell lorinda), it seems to me that somehow lorinda has discovered that if a poster wants something deleted, and it isn't, then Twoplustwo could be sued - hence, the threat of legal action to get the relevant posts deleted, which is probably in reality all lorinda wants.

(Again, in reality, people in the UK don't sue, as a rule - it's a different world over here in that respect - so it is an empty threat, I believe. lorinda's good at running bluffs, don't forget!)

I'd HATE lorinda to be banned. lorinda is a major part of Twoplustwo's history. I can't actually see any reason to ban lorinda, simply because lorinda has reacted angrily to a thread that has really pissed lorinda off, for whatever reason.

I would ask that we delete the "offending" posts, as lorinda requested, and let the water run under the bridge. In fact, lorinda might leave of lorinda's own accord if lorinda falls out with more than a couple of people over this - it's the way lorinda is as a person.

Finally, Lori was created because at one point GrannyMae was on death's door, with 2500 posts to Granny's name. lorinda vowed that lorinda would never post more than 2500 posts, as a sign of respect, and therefore had to start the Lori account. After Granny's heart operation and recovery, lorinda was able to post again. In the early days of the use of the two accounts, I think lorinda was used for poker posts and Lori for chat posts, (or vice versa). I don't know if that is the case now, as lorinda sort of fell out with me when I was made a moderator in "lorinda's" Zoo, and lorinda moved to the strategy forums.