If I was short with you--and I don't doubt I was--please accept my apologies.  There are times when my emotions get the better of me and good members of bitcointalk get caught in the crossfire. 

Yeah, I genuinely do not understand what went on with that escrow thing.  That's the truth, and I did read the thread(s) relating to that matter to the best of my ability, and that ability is limited in some cases.

The extortion thing is a divisive issue.  Either you believe it was a sting operation gone wrong or you believe it truly was an extortion attempt.  I fall on the side of it being a sting--and an ill-conceived one that obviously backfired very badly.

In my real life job, most of the people I come in contact with have been to jail, and there are no angels or saints present in the building.  During the time I've worked there I've come to accept that 1) everyone has told a lie at some point, and 2) people's character should not be defined by their best or worst act.  Thus I am able to forgive certain indiscretions depending on the severity, and I'm also able to tolerate a certain amount of crap from members here if they have otherwise proven themselves to be trusted and valuable members of the community.  And of course there is a limit to that. 

But I think very carefully before giving a neg to someone on DT, for example, or a very senior member with a good reputation.  Their transgressions would have to be blatant and severe for me to give them negative trust.  Every case is different.

Lauda has done a hell of a lot to keep scammers and other shitballs at bay.  If you combine that with the fact that I don't believe Lauda is an extortionist and can't determine the escrow thing, you'll understand why I've stepped in to defend him/her/it/we/you/them from time to time.