Hey Scud

[Larry Reese]

I for one have found some of the threads and behavior in them to be overly aggressive and self-righteous. People are seemingly attacked because they have the temerity to raise a subject that may have been debated in the past (how stupid of them!) or disagreed someone who vociferously propounds their own belief (in face to face conversation these are the folks who make up for weaknesses in their arguments by increasing volume or otherwise avoiding the merits of the content). Having been involved in the CS community for more than 12 years now and having known some of the guys on here longer than that, I can say that I personally feel this is somewhat cyclical in nature. And like other strange phenomena I, for one, tend to view it with mild bemusement. However, one effect that it has that I find most unfortunate is that it often dissuades new members or visitors (or even long time regulars) from engaging in a conversation because they feel unwelcome on the one hand or just don't think it's worth bothering with the behavior in the other. We are all guests here and should be careful how we treat one another and our host(s). Some people begin to think of this place as there home or part of their family, and as we all know, you will say or do things to and in front of your family that you would never do to people you don't know, or have just met. We are not family, and should treat each other with respect and courtesy. Leave the bickering in PMs or e-mail; communicating on the forum should be something that adds to the experience of this site, not something that must be endured to access its other benefits. This is no one's private forum and no one is right (or wrong) simply because they have a consensus among people willing to speak up on their side. Courtesy is the mark of civilization and it costs nothing.

I support the moderators doing whatever they feel is appropriate to restore some order for the majority.

That's just my opinion, only.

LR