I don’t know, I feel for the guy. Yes, he was wrong to start Litigating the Eschaton — which, still, isn’t as bad as immanentizing it. But it seems to me he made a classic new-to-the-web blunder. This sort of thing happens when you’re new to the hurly-burly argy-bargy of the interent and you think you have to take every little thing seriously. I used to respond to sooo much hate mail and every bit of criticism from every loony site — because I thought it would make a difference. I still get peeved when bloggers and other websters lie about their traffic numbers. I remember one website where there was a transgender poet who wanted to do something particularly worrisome to me with what some might call a marital aid. But what are you going to do?
The ironic thing is that Krugman himself is a great example of this sort of thin-skinnedness. Remember how he freaked out about Andrew Sullivan’s criticism, talking about his site like it was some sort of neo-Nazi compound?
Best thing to do with folks like Atrios is ignore ‘em. Threatening them only boosts their self-esteem. Live and learn.