You have my complete sympathy. A few years back, when I was fairly inactive here, someone used my name to make snarky,cruel comments toward others. Didn't catch it until I searched up a past comment, but the damage appeared to be done. If I may offer a two-fold piece of advice, it's a) If these idiots show up, ignore them completely (attention's what they demand); and b.) If a post from a familiar name seems totally out of character for the poster, please consider the probability that it's from another source.

Thanks for the tips, Martin. We have the ability to (sort-of) ban people from the Forum, but I don't like to use a big club on a stupid little clown, especially on a forum like this where I think we can rely on the intelligence of everyone else to know (as you suggest) when some imbecilic troll is yanking our chains.

Still, let it be said that on ANY message board, no matter how tolerant or how hair-trigger the sensitivity, a cardinal rule is that it is wrong, wrong, wrong to impersonate another poster -- it's a form of slander, and an invitation to chaos. And yes, we *do* know when this happens. So if you really want to get "banned," that's a great way to do it.

Meanwhile, a word to one and all: If you do nothing else online today, do yourself a favor and visit Martin's Columbo fanfic site -- featuring some of the most original "Columbo" ideas ever, some so brilliant that they are better than certain episodes of the actual show!:

http://www.planetpreset.com/colfanfic.html

Thank you, Martin, I deeply appreciate that. I'm immensely happy that the "Columbo" fan community is one that is reasonable and thoughtful, unlike the absolute messes one finds in other "communities", with almost complete chaos in the comments sections of the majority (it seems) of YouTube videos, as well as so many other places on the internet that are brimming with self-important lunatics. Of course, the tone of "Columbo" lends itself to respectful discussions, with the series never having provided fodder for the kinds of derision that is rampant elsewhere.
Again, thank you, Martin, and thank you, Ted, for posting the address for Martin's site! I'll definitely have to check it out