Hey folks,
First, I wanted to say that the reason I haven't been around much lately has less to do with the hostility on the board and more to do with other interests winning my attention. Besides, I looked over the threads one day and realized that I had been posting way too much to the point of running the board. Ask anyone who knows me well, no one loves a good brawl better than I do!
Second, I hope everyone understands that... well... as a group, on average, Program vets are probably among the biggest and most trucculant assholes this side of the Persian Gulf! As far as I can tell, and basing my conclusion on several years of involvement with Program related forums, there has always been a (way!) higher than average level of hostility, paranoia and pain expressed in better or worse ways in these forums.
At one point over on Don's list, I actually tried to make a case that Chris Pool was flooding for the purpose of preventing people from finding the conference promotion spam. Looking back, I can't even believe how far gone that theory was or that I had been such a monumental asshole as to actually publicly accuse him!
I'm seriously considering banning anonymous posts on some level. I think I'll set up a poll and see what the consensus is. That may cut down on some of the more reactionary stuff, I don't know.
But I'm sure it won't eliminate it entirely. So, as a friend and fellow BBS user, not as admin (which title and position only has to do with tech issues) my advice to those who are staying away or not posting because of the hostility is to simply ignore it. If you get to the bottom of a post and haven't found anything you can respond to civily, just go back to the one that caught your interest and respond to it. If you don't want to argue, don't.
And to people who may, on my advice, have some of their posts ignored by some, please don't take it personally.
Life may have no meaning. Or even worse, it may have a meaning of which I disapprove.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0912800909/circlofmiamithem' target='_new'>Ashleigh Brilliant
