“But companies that try to shut down critics, with personal attacks, are wrong. Startups that do it are worse than wrong, they’re doomed.”

The doomed start-up: Mahalo (foiunded by Jason Calacanis) The shutdown critic: Dave Winer The story: Dave and Jason Calacanis (follow-up to the “Gnow Gnews from GnomeDex” story arc).

It’s about Dave desparately wanting a mobile device that runs the Frontier kernel so he can write “mobile apps”. iPhone doesn’t, gPhone OS doesn’t (it’s a modified Java VM) and the Windows Mobile OS won’t.

Unless someone makes a Linux based device and he can get Frontier ported he’s not going to be able to code fomr the new edge of the network.

But it’s not critical because the new edge is just a new browser instance and it’s actually less complex for him to put text there than on the Rich Internet App platforms like SilverLake, AIR or JavaFX.

You could write a book on the Weblogs.com experience… but then Winer would sue you.

Winer’s not big on sharing. Credit, money or even OPML.

As someone pretty passionate about child welfare, particularly abuse of the sort Dave was ringing the dinner bell on, I’m not going to apologize for watchdogging his disgusting no-holds-barred approach to trashing anyone, at all costs, to service his ego. We can have some comic relief with it when it’s all just a bunch of privileged grownups giving each other shit. But, the next time he crosses the line and jeopardizes families and children, I’m glad people are watching him who will be able to put it in context and illustrate the larger pattern of behavior for the passer-by reader.

Someone sued Dave Winer? For money? Seriously… It’s a widely held view that you should NEVER try to win an argument with Dave Winer.

People who prefer to just analyze his latest blog posts do so here. And yes we seek tirelessly to understand what makes him tick.

It’s obvious to me that his father didn’t give the poor kid any strokes and it makes him really hungry for attention and validation. When a parent screws up a kid the kid spends the rest of his/her life trying to fix the damage.

I try to leave his mother out of it. She IS a counselor by training if not education.

Thanks for pitching in with the “why don’t you guys just move on”. Everyone has a reason and some of the reasons are probably personal.

Karma has a way of surround some people with animus. Dave has a decidedly politial effect on web conversations and has touched hundreds of people in his business life as well.