I still disagree that raising issues from a different angle that do nothing to further the knowledge that the person starting the thread is trying to glean is useful in a technical discussion. In fact I think it is actually counter productive to the questioner. Starting another thread raising those questions probably would be the way to go imho.

Maybe this is a matter of personal preference...I personally have never cared one way or the other, whether someone starts a new thread. (And I've had some of my initial posts go in crazy directions, and I never really cared if it started as a new thread or not).

Aside from that...you hit on one key point....."that do nothing to further the knowledge that the person starting the thread is trying to glean".....I have to be honest Alan, this is a case of "selective prosecution". I've seen other people reply with statements that might initially seem out in left field, but the person was trying to raise an issue that the original poster didn't see. In the case of JVP, he was raising issues that were unpopular with some.

In the case of David Stevenson (who was involved in one of the threads with JVP)...I've met the man (briefly) and he seems like a good guy....but I'll be honest, David struggled to show any level of objectivity where JVP was concerned.