A HIPAA callout.

April 10, 2006 10:22 PM

WTF delmoi? Why do you have to constantly preach to us about HIPAA?

delmoi has a problem of shitting in threads that are only tangentially related to HIPAA.

He appears to have spelled it correctly in only one comment ­- HIPAA was actually relevant to the thread, so someone commented about it before he showed up. He still managed to give terrible advice anyhow.

Why do you keep doing this? What grudge do you have against a law you can't spell?
posted by blasdelf to etiquette/policy at 10:22 PM (99 comments total)

Why do you keep doing this? What grudge do you have against a law you can't spell?

These are questions that could have been asked via email. Lame callout.
posted by knave at 10:27 PM on April 10, 2006

I'll leave this up just because I tried to email delmoi a couple weeks ago and got nothing in response. I suspect the account listed on his profile is unchecked.
posted by mathowie at 10:29 PM on April 10, 2006

I've suspected for a long time that delmoi is actually several people sharing an account -- sort of a reverse dhoyt, if you will. I can't seem to work out how he/she/it can be lucid and relatively reasonable one day and completely incoherent (though that seems to happen less frequently of late) the next.

Haven't lost any sleep thinking about it, though.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:39 PM on April 10, 2006

delnous, if you will.
posted by matthewr at 10:44 PM on April 10, 2006 [2 favorites]

Yeah, I think I sent him an email about this one of the times he did it previously and got no response.

I saw him do it again this time, did a google search for site:metafilter.com delmoi HIPPA and found the pattern of shitty comments.

Maybe someone with a Myspace account (I don't touch that shit) could send him a message there. (It was linked in his profile, and has been logged into recently)
posted by blasdelf at 10:46 PM on April 10, 2006

how odd.
posted by shmegegge at 11:00 PM on April 10, 2006

shitting in threads --there's been a room waiting for that turn of phrase at the Unimaginatively Melodramatic Cliches Retirement Villa for far too long now.
posted by y2karl at 11:17 PM on April 10, 2006

Surely, your harping on the spelling mistake will ensure that your callout is taken seriously, and focus community attention on delmoi's inattention to detail, not your attention to minutia.
posted by scarabic at 11:20 PM on April 10, 2006

holy shit - not sure if this has happened prior, but y2karl just made me laugh big time
posted by scarabic at 11:21 PM on April 10, 2006

he tends to take AxMe too literally, in my opinion.
posted by kcm at 11:22 PM on April 10, 2006

No matter how you slice it, that is a racist comment.
posted by scarabic at 11:39 PM on April 10, 2006

Now I'm confused.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:46 PM on April 10, 2006

Got a better turn of phrase to apply to the phenomenon y2karl?

I'd certainly like a better one. I coined "$5 Special" for our new friends. Can't think of a good one here though.

When coining a thread-shitting replacement, one could choose to go for the obvious 'derail' jokes, but now that <marquee> is gone, the best possible joke for that one is gone. An animated gif couln't hold a candle to an ASCII Art marquee of a train running off the rails.
posted by blasdelf at 11:47 PM on April 10, 2006

I've suspected for a long time that delmoi is actually several people sharing an account

I've wondered the same thing. I used to like what he had to say in comments and posts, at least the general message, if not tone, but it seems to have become much more inconsistent and incoherent and even outright shrill, with wildly varying results.

Maybe I just changed or started paying attention.
posted by loquacious at 11:48 PM on April 10, 2006

An animated gif couln't hold a candle to an ASCII Art marquee of a train running off the rails.

I dunno, those non-animated trainwreck jpegs can be pretty tasty with good timing and judicious use, but you're right, it's no ASCII trainwreck.
posted by loquacious at 11:50 PM on April 10, 2006

It's not really a slicing motion, but rather a chopping one.

Don't get the racist angle though, is it insensitively mocking people from New England that pronounce 'Ask' in that annoying way?
posted by blasdelf at 11:50 PM on April 10, 2006

Damn Hippies.
posted by Joeforking at 11:53 PM on April 10, 2006

I've suspected for a long time that delmoi is actually several people sharing an account -- sort of a reverse dhoyt, if you will.

I won't, without some clarification—last I heard, there had been no specific disproof of dhoyt's claim that there were others (co-workers, was it) who contributed to the dhoyt (et al) mythos. That is to say, regardless of the overwhelmingly likely notion that dhoyt himself was primarily responsible for his, jenleigh's, highsignal's, and hall of robot's behavior, there is no clear indication (that I can recall, mind you, and my memory and perceptions are more than fallible) that there were not others involved in generating the gospel of dhoyt; and if that were the case, the situation would be congruent, rather than the reverse, to dhoyt.
posted by cortex at 12:15 AM on April 11, 2006

double dumbass on you
posted by scarabic at 12:24 AM on April 11, 2006

I'll leave this up just because I tried to email delmoi a couple weeks ago and got nothing in response. I suspect the account listed on his profile is unchecked.

Yeah, the email just goes to my hotmail account. I will setup another gmail account right now where people can reach me. Hang on.
posted by delmoi at 12:25 AM on April 11, 2006

AxMe, slice it...

oh fuck, nevermind.
posted by scarabic at 12:25 AM on April 11, 2006

i think you're remembering it wrong, cortex. he did it to amuse his co-workers. he didn't say they participated. he copped to being all of them. so he was one person who created distinct personas whereas it's being suggested that delmoi is many people posting as one.

so, see? it's reverse of the dhoyt situation.

oh, and viva la jek porkins.
posted by Hat Maui at 12:26 AM on April 11, 2006

I think stavros is saying something more along the lines of:

dhoyt (and according to dhoyt, coworkers) == dhoyt, jenleigh, highsignal, and hall of robots

&&

Several People == delmoi

That assertion that the insinuated dhoyt inversion is actually dhoyt congruence only stands if dhoyt was actually multiple people, and if there are other accounts being used by the same people as delmoi (something that there is absolutely no indication of).

All of this being speculative of course...

IDLE INTERNETS ARE THE DEVIL'S PLAYTHINGS.
posted by blasdelf at 12:29 AM on April 11, 2006

it's being suggested that delmoi is many people posting as one.

I wouldn't say I'm going as far as suggesting anything or making any accusation, just that that was the only way I could explain to myself the... er... significant variability of delmoi's persona here I kept noticing. No biggy, and I probably shouldn't have bothered saying anything.

(Unless of course it's actually true, in which case he must be pelted with a veritable hail of rocks and garbage!)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:32 AM on April 11, 2006

Yeah, Jek Porkins is totally dhoyt. Appeared just after the bannination, an instantly prolific commenter, same style and substance as dhoyt, etc.
posted by blasdelf at 12:36 AM on April 11, 2006

Okay, you guys can reach me mefi10539-at-gmail-com. The reason I never updated my profile email was that I assumed people had rewritten email address harvesters to parse addresses in the written out 'username at domain dot com'. ) Obviously it would be pretty easy to do so). I didn't want to try some other goofy obfuscation technique either.

Gmail has a pretty good Spam filter, I suppose I'll find out whether or not I get spammed at this address.

To address your other questions, no I am not multiple people. I am one person, sadly. I really do have this much time on my hands.

Incoherency you might see could be caused by sleepiness at the time of posting. That was certainly the case with my 'violationa' comment in the other thread, which I immediately felt embarrassed about. At work, people joke about HIPAA all the time, because it's so draconian (and apparently funny) and our products help business comply.
posted by delmoi at 12:44 AM on April 11, 2006

OK, no rocks-and-garbage shower then. Ah well.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:45 AM on April 11, 2006

i think you're remembering it wrong, cortex. he did it to amuse his co-workers. he didn't say they participated. he copped to being all of them. so he was one person who created distinct personas whereas it's being suggested that delmoi is many people posting as one.

That was his excuse, but I'm thinking he was just totally crazy.
posted by delmoi at 1:00 AM on April 11, 2006

I vote for the "single delmoi" theory that states he is a dozy bastard with spelling problems who posts too much. He's not a one-note, he's a one-man-band with the jitters; if you listen for any given note -- yeah, you're gonna hear it a lot.
posted by fleacircus at 2:16 AM on April 11, 2006

the "single delmoi" theory

Back...and to the left.
Back...and to the left.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:51 AM on April 11, 2006

The sad thing is that while I have not compiled any statistics on the subject I spellcheck the vast majority of my posts in Word before posting them. Only a few slip through the cracks, or I might make a quick edit in the box before hitting post causing an error.

But yes, I am totally aware of my, erm, difficulties with spelling.
posted by delmoi at 3:20 AM on April 11, 2006

Wow, this guy actually used the word "Dude" in a totally un-ironic manner on page 19.

While the beginning of the essay was solid, it seems to suffer from a lack of editing towards the middle. Still interesting stuff, though.
posted by delmoi at 3:48 AM on April 11, 2006

haha, now I've fucked up my own callout. I meant to post that last comment to this thread.

Now I really need to go to bed.
posted by delmoi at 4:06 AM on April 11, 2006

The amazing thing is that I notice spelling errors in almost all of his posts (and usually there are 4 or 5 of them in a row).
posted by trey at 4:27 AM on April 11, 2006

At work, people joke about HIPAA all the time, because it's so draconian (and apparently funny) and our products help business comply.

So let me get this straight - your livelihood directly relates to HIPAA, and you still couldn't spell it right?

Or were you being hip and ironic by misspelling it? Teh L0Lz0Rz!
posted by beth at 4:29 AM on April 11, 2006

Beth: in some ways, but it only indirectly relates to me.
posted by delmoi at 4:34 AM on April 11, 2006

The amazing thing is that I notice spelling errors in almost all of his posts (and usually there are 4 or 5 of them in a row).

Trey, can you give me an example from this thread? Or from this thread on the blue? this one, this one, or this one? Those being the last four threads I've posted in.

I honestly don't see any.
posted by delmoi at 4:44 AM on April 11, 2006

No matter how you slice it, that is a racist comment.

No it's not.

Yes it is.

No it's not.

Yes, it is.

NO... it's really not.
posted by Witty at 4:51 AM on April 11, 2006

How about a "failure to read four comments into the thread before posting something equivalent to the fourth post" error?

Like here.

Can we take points off for that too? (please)
posted by beth at 5:00 AM on April 11, 2006

How is this thread not a HIPPO violation? For shame, blasdelf.
posted by Plutor at 5:03 AM on April 11, 2006

Why does Australia suck, delmoi?
I mean, I think Australians suck - but that's because they're all around, climbing up me and shit - but what's your reason?
posted by strawberryviagra at 5:07 AM on April 11, 2006

Well, I don't really want to post gobs and gobs of your spelling errors, but since you asked, this is from one of the threads you said was error-free:

huh, Freedman considers the internet 'born' on 8/9//95. The day netscape went public. Does that mean he thinks the internet died when netscape was bought by AOL?
posted by delmoi at 5:09 AM EST on April 11 [!]
posted by trey at 5:07 AM on April 11, 2006

Additionally (and forgive me as I'm about to be guilty of that which I accuse), I don't really care if you can or cannot spell. Really, what the issue I have with most of your posting is that you post so incredibly much that much of your content is "that isn't interesting." Then you post 2 or 3 times more in quick succession adding more information about why it is or isn't interesting and usually thesee posts either have spelling errors, are duplicates of earlier posts, or contain information found in the subject of the FPP.
posted by trey at 5:14 AM on April 11, 2006

Not seeing the spelling error, unless Freedman is misspelled. Is that really what this thread is about? Cuz I make spelling errors all the time too.
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:16 AM on April 11, 2006

On no preview: Ah. But what was the spelling error?
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:17 AM on April 11, 2006

Delmoi, perhaps you should fix your myspace profile, (linked from your mefi user page) which currently states you are a recent collage graduate. It will help you get even more hot girls as friends.
posted by Roger Dodger at 5:22 AM on April 11, 2006

Does he really need any more hot girls? Zowza!
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:25 AM on April 11, 2006

So, what? This is a place to slag off delmoi for little annoyances? When someone does something shitty I think they should get called out; but I think it's bad form, and a bad idea, to open up a general discussion of how a particular poster annoys you if that's all they're guilty of doing.
posted by OmieWise at 6:09 AM on April 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

i always assumed delmoi was also multiple users. His comments are ubiquitous, and rarely do they have continuity, relevance, depth, or context. Really, he reminds me always of that weird kid from that old 'Kids in the Hall' episode...the kid who was being raised by a single mother, and would run to the local butcher shop and be like:

Delmoi: "How much do you think my head weights? If I could seperate my head from my body, how much do you think it would weigh? How much do you think my head would be worth?"

Metafilter: [no answer]

Delmoi: "Then how much do you think my head be worth if it were made of VEAL??"

Metafilter: "$5.00."

Delmoi: "No, I won't sell."

delmoi


posted by naxosaxur at 6:12 AM on April 11, 2006 [6 favorites]

Well, I don't really want to post gobs and gobs of your spelling errors, but since you asked, this is from one of the threads you said was error-free:…

Hmm, I spelled Friedman 'Freedman', but both are valid spellings. I said I spell checked the vast majority of my posts. I never said any of my posts were error free, or did not contain errors that could not be detected automatically. Like Spelling 'College' 'Collage', which I seem to do all the time.

That said, you said you found spelling errors in "almost all of my posts". I think the actual figure is far lower.

Honestly I would just never notice the difference between "Friedman" and "Freedman" while reading. I don't read one letter at a time, or even one word at a time. Furthermore, I would never want to. I can use software to mitigate this, and that's good enough for me. The only other alternative would be stop talking, and I'm certainly not going to do that.

I will try to put more thought into my comments here, from now on since it seems to irritate so many people.
posted by delmoi at 6:16 AM on April 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

As you can see, this thread makes me sad.

waa waa waa.
posted by delmoi at 6:19 AM on April 11, 2006

Also, I think "Kids in the Hall" totally sucked.
posted by delmoi at 6:22 AM on April 11, 2006

Hey, I was never annoyed so much as mildly confused, is all.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:33 AM on April 11, 2006

What OmieWise said.

[this agreement is coming from someone who will absolutely jump in a pile-on, if I think someone deserves it... delmoi is showing a degree of restraint and grace, and trying to address the (different and arguably unrelated) complaints in here.]

Also, I am borderline neurotic when it comes to spelling, but inconsistent or incorrect spelling with others bothers me less and less. Spelling != intelligence. Caveat: I never use spellcheck, and there might be a few posts/comments of mine that slip through the cracks.
posted by exlotuseater at 6:36 AM on April 11, 2006

Although "Kids in the Hall" did not suck.
posted by exlotuseater at 6:37 AM on April 11, 2006

Yeah, actually you guys are right. It is more then one person. We are from a sect of Buddhist monks high in the Himalayas who believe that the world will end once 6999 posts are made to the blue -- when combined with virgin sacrifices. That's why neither johnmc nor amberglow were able to do it were able to bring about the end of the world: No virgin sacrifices.

As you can imagine, the comments were easy. The hard part was getting the virgins. We tried myspace but, yeah, turns out most of the girls aren't virgins.
---

Seriously though, why on earth would a bunch of people get together and conspire to post all this inane goblitygook?

Anyway, I'm probably spending too much time on this site, and crowding out other voices, and honestly it's eating into time I should be doing other things. I'll take a break (except for Ask).
posted by delmoi at 6:47 AM on April 11, 2006

Wait. What's the callout about, again? Is it the spelling, or the hippos, or what?
posted by crunchland at 6:52 AM on April 11, 2006

Oddly enough I work in a hospital computer lab and all over the place are giant signs warning about "HIPPA regulations". Perhaps only those within the profession are unable to recognize the true acronym.
posted by cloeburner at 7:15 AM on April 11, 2006

Anyway, I'm probably spending too much time on this site, and crowding out other voices, and honestly it's eating into time I should be doing other things. I'll take a break (except for Ask).

Good call.
posted by mathowie at 7:18 AM on April 11, 2006

Hmm, I spelled Friedman 'Freedman', but both are valid spellings.

What? It's a guy's name, there's no alternate correct way to spell it.
posted by SweetJesus at 7:45 AM on April 11, 2006

Yeah, actually you guys are right. It is more then one person. We are from a sect of Buddhist monks high in the Himalayas who believe that the world will end once 6999 posts are made to the blue -- when combined with virgin sacrifices.

Waaah, delmoi's using all the hot water again!

Honestly, I don't see the point here. delmoi's referring to medical privacy rights, and he gets called out for pushing an agenda. He seems more like languagehat in this regard than any of the standard catcallers who'll bawl out a post.

While the incident's ended diplomatically enough, I don't believe delmoi's been as much of a villain as some may feel.
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:49 AM on April 11, 2006

His comments are ubiquitous, and rarely do they have continuity, relevance, depth, or context.

This thread is about delmoi, not moi. Step off.

Seriously though, why on earth would a bunch of people get together and conspire to post all this inane goblitygook?

People are weird, man. I knew some guys in college who trolled message boards in the guise of hard-core Transformers enthusiasts. They would spend hours—hours—a day sucking whole message boards into contentious arguments about the propriety and ethics of discussing Transformers. It was, y'know, amusing in condensed-anecdote form over drinks, but the idea of actually doing that, for weeks? Boggling.

The eventually became SA goons.
posted by cortex at 7:57 AM on April 11, 2006

I used to love Kids in the Hall. And really, anything that gave us the "I Crush Your Head" does have its positive aspects.

But man, going back and re-watching all those old episodes? Very very much of it is just really, really bad.
posted by antifuse at 8:15 AM on April 11, 2006

Also, delnous is just too delicious.
posted by antifuse at 8:16 AM on April 11, 2006

So, honestly, delmoi - you have consistently claimed that talking about any aspect of an unidentified patient's care is a HIPAA violation. That is clearly not the case. Why, then, do you keep insisting that it is so?
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:39 AM on April 11, 2006

MetaFilter: Why on earth would a bunch of people get together and conspire to post all this inane goblitygook?
posted by kcm at 8:46 AM on April 11, 2006 [2 favorites]

People are weird, man. I knew some guys in college who trolled message boards in the guise of hard-core Transformers enthusiasts. They would spend hours—hours—a day sucking whole message boards into contentious arguments about the propriety and ethics of discussing Transformers. It was, y'know, amusing in condensed-anecdote form over drinks, but the idea of actually doing that, for weeks? Boggling.

Man, that anecdote totally brightened my day. Thanks!
posted by ludwig_van at 9:32 AM on April 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

kcm: "MetaFilter: Why on earth would a bunch of people get together and conspire to post all this inane goblitygook?"

That's it. No more taglines. After this one, no more are necessary. Thank you, delmoi. Thank you, kcm.
posted by Plutor at 9:35 AM on April 11, 2006

What an odd callout. Maybe I don't pay close enough attention, but there seems a lot of animosity towards someone who, you know, hasn't really done anything terribly bad. (But then I frequently make spelling errors here so hideous that I want to gouge my eyes out with a pickle spoon as penance, so it could be a solidarity thing.)

MetaFilter: Why on earth would a bunch of people get together and conspire to post all this inane goblitygook gobbledygook?
posted by jack_mo at 9:38 AM on April 11, 2006

Metafilter: That's it. No more taglines. After this one, no more are necessary.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:52 AM on April 11, 2006

What an odd callout.

For every mattress, a pea underneath, evidently.

And what grudge do you have against writing consecutive sentences, blasdef ?

What's with all the double spacing between sentences ?


What is that about ?



Huh ?
posted by y2karl at 9:59 AM on April 11, 2006

Man, I gotta start reading MetaTalk again. This season's narrative is looking to be one of the best!
posted by rocketman at 10:31 AM on April 11, 2006

Hmm, I spelled Friedman 'Freedman', but both are valid spellings

This would seem to explain why he thinks he doesn't make spelling errors. Any spelling he uses is a valid spelling.

And while this callout is perhaps borderline, I too am increasingly annoyed by the pointless HIPAA references. Taking a break from MeFi may be overreaction, but I would greatly appreciate a break from that crap.
posted by languagehat at 10:56 AM on April 11, 2006

Eye halve a spelling checker
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques for my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it to say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
It's rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
Eye am shore your pleased two no
It's letter perfect awl the weigh
My checker tolled me sew.

Margo Roark. [from here]
posted by Otis at 11:01 AM on April 11, 2006

What an odd callout. Maybe I don't pay close enough attention, but there seems a lot of animosity towards someone who, you know, hasn't really done anything terribly bad. (But then I frequently make spelling errors here so hideous that I want to gouge my eyes out with a pickle spoon as penance, so it could be a solidarity thing.)

It's not really animosity as much as pure befuddlement. It's just pretty strange, that's all.

y2karl: The nice small line width in the MeTa post preview window makes my long sentences appear to be paragraphs. I don't have quite the infinite well of bloviation that you seem to tap.
posted by blasdelf at 11:17 AM on April 11, 2006

buuuuuurn
posted by cortex at 11:29 AM on April 11, 2006

Hip... Hip Hop... Hip Hop Anonymous?
posted by ducksauce at 11:46 AM on April 11, 2006

Isn't this thread a HIPAA violation?
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:46 AM on April 11, 2006

HIPAA HIPAA, andalay, andalay, areeba, areeba. . .
posted by dgaicun at 12:22 PM on April 11, 2006

mr_crash_davis writes "Metafilter: That's it. No more taglines. After this one, no more are necessary."

Are you kidding me? Right below your comment lh supplies this gem:

MetaFilter: I would greatly appreciate a break from that crap.
posted by OmieWise at 12:46 PM on April 11, 2006

The nice small line width in the MeTa post preview window makes my long sentences appear to be paragraphs.

Here's a concept: Preview.
posted by y2karl at 1:20 PM on April 11, 2006

The FPP post preview (for MeTa at least) is less wide than the actual post, and you have to use it (It doesn't let you post without previewing).

Also, give me a replacement for 'shitting in threads'! You've left me all expectant.
posted by blasdelf at 1:38 PM on April 11, 2006

i know a really smart, but dyslexic guy who programs industrial robots. he's brilliant. but he consistently refers to mozilla and firefox as "mazola" and "foxfire". i never tire of taunting him about it.
posted by quonsar at 2:13 PM on April 11, 2006

My dad constantly pronounces google as "goggle"

It's totally ridiculous.
posted by blasdelf at 3:20 PM on April 11, 2006

Wait, is the Two Minute Hate still going on?
posted by jtron at 3:42 PM on April 11, 2006

I assumed that, although it's not a spelling error, trey was referring to the double slash usage in the date delmoi posted.

that said, I think that (in keeping with this variety of "[x] annoys me" callouts) I'm going to callout delmoi for thinking Kids In The Hall sucks. fucking blasphemy.
posted by shmegegge at 3:55 PM on April 11, 2006

My father uses "Foxfire" as a browser, too.

I attribute it his pothead hippy days, listening to Loggins & Messina. ("And one of these days I'm thinking I'll take him by surprise; He's not so clever as foxfire, dancing on the distant rise.")

Come to think of it, Firefox has a might slowdown after it eats up all the allotted memory, doesn't it? How apt.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:36 PM on April 11, 2006

I attribute it to fandom of the independent 1996 film (made in Portland!) (my sister was an extra!) (Angelina Jolie takes her top off!) Foxfire.
posted by cortex at 4:42 PM on April 11, 2006

Uh, No.

delmoi's a good guy, and often says things well.

Damn haters.
posted by Richard Daly at 5:20 PM on April 11, 2006

SRSLY.
posted by exlotuseater at 6:19 PM on April 11, 2006

delmoi's a good guy, and often says things well.

For example?
posted by Jenga at 6:41 PM on April 11, 2006

Also, give me a replacement for 'shitting in threads'! You've left me all expectant.

As in give me a cliche I can repeat endlessly ? Nuh uh.
Next time you have a hair up a gnat's ass complaint, raise the bar: think of something original to say.
posted by y2karl at 7:16 PM on April 11, 2006

I've always thought of delmoi as an upstanding citizen.

But it's weird- I really do see his name around the site a lot. I never really thought of the time it must take to post all those comments. I mean, if I always see him in threads, think about all the threads I don't read? He's probably there, too.

I've never been offended by him, but I've never argued with him either. The HIPAA and Australia stuff is bizarre and endearing, kinda like a cousin who walks backwards and talks like Popeye.
posted by Afroblanco at 9:58 PM on April 11, 2006

I mean, if I always see him in threads, think about all the threads I don't read? He's probably there, too.

What if it is only by your action of reading the thread that his comments are brought into being? Can you say that his comments existed before you ever read the thread? Is delmoi really anything more than a projection of your psyche against a green or blue or grey wall? The painted concrete wall of a cell?

!
posted by cortex at 8:06 AM on April 12, 2006

*pens script for independent short set in a four-walled cell, wherein the sole character, The Prisoner, sits upon a stool and turns from one wall to the next—the first is blue, and the prisoner looks at it and giggles—but then his brow furrows, he grows angry, and he swivels to face the grey wall, and commences shouting and rending his clothing—but then, peace, and self-examination: he turns to the green wall, and begins asking for help, for explanations—and then, resolved, he turns to the red wall (which he does only occasionally, because it is a weird wall, newish, and he doesn't know what to make of it); and looking at the red wall, he declares his designs to Change—and then he notices that one of the walls has a door in it, and gets up, and freakin' goes outside for once, you addict!*
posted by cortex at 8:11 AM on April 12, 2006

*he then leaves the cell, and finds himself in a large parking lot. When he locates his car, he sees that the windshield is covered in rectangular slips of paper. Thinking that they're parking violations, he picks one up and examines it. As it turns out, it's not a parking ticket at all, but... A HIPAA VIOLATION! And it needs to be paid immediately. In person. To the offices of... The Australian Medical Association!*
posted by Afroblanco at 5:12 PM on April 12, 2006

delmoi works for a HIPAA compliance company? That is frightening. Because it is plainly obvious that he doesn't know a damn thing about it. I spend more time than I would like to working with HIPAA issues every single day as they touch upon every aspect of my practice. And I can say this: anyone with anything more than a basic grasp of what HIPAA is wouldn't trot it out like delmoi does. I have a good idea why he does. Having only a passing understanding of the law and trying to misapply it is an annoying and disruptive habit. This is why states leave the practice of law to lawyers.
posted by dios at 7:16 AM on April 13, 2006

Dios, you're missing an important component: if delmoi spreads fear, uncertainty, and doubt about HIPAA rules and regulations, and calls all of these non-violations "violations," his company may get more clients for fear of breaking the rules he's making up.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:46 AM on April 13, 2006

Hey, my dad says goggle too!

Oh wait.... we have the same dad.
posted by Suparnova at 9:09 PM on May 1, 2006 [1 favorite]