Flipper,
I think I get your point very clearly - I am not missing your point. I see your point is that people will disagree - it is a reality. I get that. I never stated in my post to you that people don't disagree ! I think you we're missing my point !
Mmmmm....I feel as if a dead horse is being flogged here.
You *have* missed my point, and still have myopic view of Board dynamics. Let me try to explain again, and this time a little more simply.
1) Your ideal is that people can disagree even with vigor in a 'nice' way that does not upset any persons sensibilities at all.
2) This will never happen. It has never happened, is not happening and never will happen, for the reasons that I have twice noted above. I present the history, of this and other discussion Boards as evidence. Utopia denies the human condition, a realist does not.
I do not know where you get the figure of 90% of posters posting 'nicely', in such a manner that does not send naieve, brainwashed, cult members running back to their little empires, but let us say for the sake of argument you are correct.
Has it not occured to you that this may be because these 90% of posters do NOT post on threads that involve issues which traditionally produce ire. On this particular Board these are the political threads, those dealing with atheism and creation, or those on which JW apologists appear. On a jazz board that I read, it is rap against the rest of the musical world where death threats are regularly intoned.
I put it to you that if every thread on this Board were a political thread, every thread would be a flamewar, 100% of them. Why? Because people have passion about such subjects, far more so than discussing pizza toppings or the latest 'light' from a Watchtower, and so they should! Do you understand what I am saying? Warm fuzzy feelings are fine for subjects that hardly raise an eyebrow, but when passionate views are involves, passions become inflamed and are expressed in every tonal grammatical pattern possible. They have since the dawn of time and they will far into the future after you aand I are pushing up daisies and no hoping for a New 'Board' World will change that.
I will also reiterate that most people posting and lurking on this board have been doing so for months or even years. They well know what to expect. Those who are on the Board and are posting know what kind of threads to avoid if they do not want their perfect hair ruffled. It still puzzles me as to why the sensitive, thin-skinned posters choose to enter an arena where they know they might have their ego's dented by a little reality and have their ideas challenged in a manner more suited to political cafe shop discussions where cups are slammed on tables.
You know how I know all this Flipper? Well, just check the amount of 'hits' that a spirited thread gets. It is often in the thousands, while 'nice' threads fall oof the page with ease. What does THAT tell you about human nature. Do you honestly think this site would even register on 'Big Board' if it were not for the kind of threads that you might look down your nose at.
Another point. The stunning hypocrisy of those who want the playground to be 'nice', gentle language to be used, heads patted and smiles preserved, have no compunction is uttering the most vile and disgusting thing about Jehovah's Witnesses, naming them individually, decrying every one with generalizations fit for Hitler's Germany, and not one thread like yours appears in their defence. You know why? Well, just join the dots. I have noted some people on this Board for example, on mor than half a dozed occasionscalling for the 'nuking' of the Middle East with a jingoistic fervor that would have filled Stalin with confidence.
Most might think it 'nice' to read such bigotry and remain silent. I do not, and anybody showing such attitudes deserves all they get. You pat them on the head Flipper, I will punch their stomach, between us we might save the World. ;)
I will refrain from commenting on your disagreement with my description of discussion boards as one dimensional, preferring the description, 'multi-dimensional'. I would love to see you flesh out that idea on another thread Flipper. As you may note, I vehmently disagree, but I promise I will do so nicely. ;)
HS