>I read the entire thread now. John didn't start anything.
>He asked if this thread was appropriate for the UT. And then
>someone (Garret F) called him an idiot. The guy did not have
>the courtesy to apologize in public and then he tears a strip
>off John.

I did? In which message?

And I happen to feel that private apologies are entirely suitable: I have never insisted on a public one even when I have been insulted in public.