Didn't get a thumbs down from me. It's weird when I see some of the explicit and violent stuff around in all mediums that anyone would worry about a cartoon panel spank from Wolverine, who I just can't/don't want to imagine being some sort of dirty old man figure. Obviously Kitty took it playfully but whatever, the line about phasing through adamantium gets lost now. Yet people will revere The Killing Joke as the greatest superhero comic with very graphic explicit content?

He's done that for years.Basically, you need to have an e-mail account whose address is '[insert your real name here] dot com'. Not a free e-mail account, in other words. I had accounts with AOL,AT&T and Xfinity in the past.
His big thing is no 'aliases'. Everyone agrees to use their first and last names, or they're rejected. To my knowledge, no one actually named 'Heywood Jablome' ever tried to sign up.

Sounds like a good way to avoid trolls.

This goes back to Byrne's experience hosting chats, and a message board, on the old AOL, and experiencing 'the great unwashed' of internet message boards.

I've met some musicians that are very you might say flinty and short in patience. Some are New York flinty and others from experiences with music industry people and fanatical type fans wanting something out of them, and one even both I guess. Most have another side, I've seen the same people be caring, generous and patient under the right circumstances. Sometimes people who are at a high level of 'performance' let's say in one area might be a bit deficient seeming in another area, I mean look at the rock stars with the cliched sex and drugs to the point of seriously fubar. So if you find some artist/musician/author you admire and they are not what you wanted or expected, or you don't agree with them on stuff, yet some others are admirable and friendly to you, that's still you bringing that or wanting something from them.

Yeah, it's his turf as host, you are only a potential guest. I remember a SF author who was really out there to me, it blew my mind, very strange ideas in all kinds of ways, but also pretty interesting that someone could be so different... like stuff about women aren't real people. So out there you really couldn't even argue or find a place to start, so I guess he went on to his grave not knowing what I thought about him, but the stories were interesting, kind of like an album I have by a group called Tripsichord Music Box. I found the lyrics in the songs really cosmic and wild and fun... turns out it was a lot of devout Mormon stuff! I didn't know, but now I know I've neither been converted nor enjoy the songs less. Same happened with a couple artists with Scientology stuff in their music, or even Steve Ditko with his Randian philosophizing and whatnot. I'd have been cool with it, I'm not going to be converted or convert them so why argue?

I've heard Ditko did some fairly batty cartoons for men's magazines alongside the comics. I saw the British tv documentary where a fan went to NYC to meet him a few years ago, but even though I do like many, maybe even all of his comics (I also like Gilbert Hernandez comics for a few of the same reasons) I'd never cared about meeting him or even writing. I knew someone who knew Byrne from art school at one time, and though he was in contact with Mr. Byrne I never tried to use him to make contact or get art or anything signed. I still have no real interest in that but I do really like and admire the comic books. I did actually have a Byrne sketch and a couple signed things, I guess they were around here because he briefly lived here, but I didn't keep them (wish I had kept the Charlton Bullseye magazine though, but not so much because it was signed). So never 'met', that doesn't really mean anything to me, but definitely interesting to read his thoughts and maybe contribute my own. Definitely in awe of his skill! I could've met Gilbert H. once and something else came up and I couldn't make that scene, oh well. All I could've said is how I really enjoyed this and that like any fan, Gil Kane once said fans can't help not being able to interact on an equal level really, possibly true too for fellow artists who were/are fans, I imagine Byrne himself not feeling equal to some of the artists he admired the most and I think he has said as much a couple times that I saw.

To be perfectly honest, I find a person that never married nor had any kids and died alone at age 90 to have lived a sad life. Having a child or committing to a marriage or both , are signs that your spirit can reach out and love another person in a way that shows maturity and marks you as part of the human race. I suspect his life of seclusion and devotion to the Randian theory were tied together. I suspect that there will be a few here that will put me on blast for having that opinion. That's my take on his strange life.