‘Twas brillig and the slithy tothes, Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.
–Lewis Carroll
Goo goo g’ joob…

(Has anyone else noticed that “Slithey tothe” is sort of a slant rhyme with “slimy toad?” Of course, toads aren’t slimy but verisimilitude be damned…)

A troll appeared in the comments at Joho the Blog this month. Twas “Bileg,” a slithey tothe if ever I’ve seen one. The guy is giving ad hominem argumentum a bad name. Bileg’s critique to date includes: a) an expression of dissatisfaction with the Joho colors; b) a yawn and a slur regarding David’s epistemological Work In Progress; c) a gratuitous insult or two around a really funny video of Nathan W. eating a carrot; and d) (my favorite, a sartorial insight of the first water) “If this web site is any indication I bet Weinberger is the kind of guy who wears baggy Dockers.”

I think it was the baggy Dockers comment that led me to take a closer look at the troll. I was probably wearing baggy Dockers when I read it. My interest in the troll’s identity was piqued. Does he, I wondered, have some specific ax to grind with DW or with Berkman or Levi Strauss or what? Some desultory googling yielded nothing so his identity remains cloaked in webby anonymity. I hope he appears again. As a student of ad hominem arguments, I think I can pick up some pointers on how not to do it. (Baggy Dockers!)

Read more about trolls and how to deal with them in this post by Maria Niles at Blogher.