I have had many run-ins with Derka on the hoops boards. Somehow I missed this thread and was like... why are the basketball boards so peaceful all of a sudden... and so boring? Well, now I know why.
I'm sad to see Derka go, but in my view he bullies far more than he is bullied. He loves to attack people, inflame a situation, and call names, and then in the end try to gaslight everyone into thinking HE was the one who was attacked. I have seen it over and over again. I've also seen him repeatedly derail a thread away from a positive discussion and on to whatever topic he wants. And it is very often an inflammatory topic where he is inventing an argument so that he can do what he loves... argue with huge longcat multi-posts that just wear you out.
Classic example is reminding everyone over and over that he was the only one who thought we shouldn't have hired RT and everyone else is a small minded sunshine pumper. Man it was getting tiresome. But I always tried to de-escalate the situation because I know about his mental health issues. F the people who TRY to stir him up knowing about his issues. That was also ruining the board.
I don't necessarily think he should have been banned, but he was given clear choices and the consequences for those choices were known to him when he made them. He knew he would be banned and just kept on digging in. It is sad to see, but not at all surprising.
As time passes, I'm hopeful he will be invited back. That said, I'm sure he has already found a way to get past any bans and is already posting under a new handle.