This characterisation by Dwayne has been worrying me from the moment I saw it. In returning to LBO, my intention was (a) to propose a lunch gathering and (b) avoid all the flamewars and misunderstandings that left me depressed and unhappy. In posting what I did on this thread, I was merely attempting to tease Chris Doss whose one-liners can also be enjoyed on Facebook (and these are the ones I had in mind).
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It wasn't my intention to discomfort you; only describe the situation as I've long seen it.
Some people are really engaged in all the threads they participate in (and therefore, choose wisely). Others are only tweaking. As far as I'm concerned, CD does an awful lot of tweaking (I'm thinking of the Prop 8 thread which you probably missed -- a really unfortunate display of bullheadeness in response to sincere attempts to educate and offer nuance).
In the past, a lot (and c'mon, I'm not saying all or even the majority, but a lot) of your stuff seemed to come pretty close to being a softer version of the same.
Of course, that's only my view; I'm sure there are less critical opinions.
And listen, it's really no big deal. I'm not calling anyone an enemy -- or any names at all, actually. In fact, I think this is one of the big differences between us: what you interpret as "flamewars" and discord -- what apparently drove you to retreat from the list -- I see as the normal hashing out of opposing POVs. I'm not sitting with my grandparents gently swapping stories, I'm tossing my ideas out into a public arena for critique.
Sometimes, that leads to combat.
As long as the language stays civil and we resist the temptation to denounce each other as coal shovelers for Satan (a pretty common tactic, it seems) I have no trouble with the roughest debates. If you think someone's spouting bullshit, I think you should -- politely, but firmly -- call it out and offer alternative information.
To put it another way, viva la guerre.
.d.