>So, we have good solid technical advice getting lost in the BS. The question is then, is the "soap opera" and mudslinging the result of a lack of civility or oversensitivity? (or both?) (or neither?)


Scott,

IMO, the mudslinging is an aspect of human nature. It comes and then it goes. Since I first visited the compuserve fora many years ago I have seen the thread from hell arrive, hang around a while and then go away. A few of them I've been a principle player in too.

It does no good to analyze the hell out of them because there is no way to stop and leave the communication medium in tact.

They usually progress the same way the recent few have occured here. Someone post a message that has some questionable commetn in it. They get blasted by one or more other folks. They respond in a defensive manner. A sysop or someone else with the authority steps in to stop the exchange on that thread. The parties watch for each other in other threads and poke a stab at each other every opportunity. The folks that are not involved get fed up with the antics adn start posting messages to each of teh principles telling them they are being immature and to stop. The principles get more defensive and start digging at the good semaritans.

Invariably one of the principles gets marked as the trouble maker (usually unfarily because it was two or more that started the trouble). The community as a whole then responds to practically anything that person posts as if it was another out of line remark (even if the remark was a response to a presonal attack from someone else). The principle gets even more defensive and usually goes away never to be heard from again or digs in hard and fights the valient fight.

Eventually everyone gets tired and bored with the whole thing and it ends. The trouble is that it will never end until everyone drops it, shakes hands, and gets on with life. As long as teh subject remans in discussion, the argument has life.

I believe that there is a hig responsibility for the length and heat from the firestrom that belongs to the unlookers that feel they must comment on the existence of the flame war. That just adds one more message to the thread adn lots of folks look at very long threads to see whats going on. Once they look then they too have an absolutely insightful and most important comment to make and on and on and on. Until, as I said before, everyone gets bored.

IMO, the worst thing that can be done to end a flame war is to jump in and comment on it.

This has happened everywhere I have ever spent any time and it will continue to happen.