Jon: I think that silence to this point is completely incriminating. Now the stakes are higher, and the incentive for a lie may be compelling. I don't believe that anything that the philatelist says can be given any credence. If s/he had said "no, you're under a misapprehension" at an earlier point, I might have been willing to cut the poster a little slack (not to the actual point of talking to him/her).

I've seen places where some of the people have personae. Sometimes, the way to go is to live and let live. I recently talked to one of our more eminent flyertalkers, who advised that the whole thing be viewed as a bit of a comedy. But when the issues become the posting of large quantities of false information admixed with the true and the attempted takedown of some of the pillars of the board, then the only sensible response is, "What, never? No, never." "What, never? Well, no, never."