>>>My point was that in all that time, only three people have behaved so badly as to need to be locked out. The UT has always seemed to me to have somewhat more of a "Wild West" attitude.
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>>Well there's a thing called freedom of speech. This opens the door to potential abuse. So starting from there who has the right to decide what's right and what's not. Depending on one's beliefs, religions or whatever a discussion could be ruled wrong or right.
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>Freedom of speech is irrelevant in a privately-owned venue, which applies to both the UT and CompuServe. Freedom of speech has to do with the government not being permitted to restrict your speech, not a private owner.
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>For example, if you come into my home and I don't like what you say, I have every right to tell you to shut up or get out. OTOH, if you stand on a public street corner, you can say pretty much whatever you want, unless you actually threaten people or otherwise cause harm (the old "shouting 'Fire!' in a theater).
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>The free speech argument missed entirely the point I was making. For whatever reasons, on CompuServe, despite discussions of many heated topics, people have chosen to behave politely and avoid not only personal attacks, but a whole tone of voice that seems more aggressive to me. On the UT, that aggressive tone and personal attacks seem much more frequent.
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>Tamar

Tamar;

I must agree with you! The people on CompuServe acted in a professional manner and the UT is more like the Wild West! There are many people with professional attitudes on the UT, and a few that want to fight for the heck of it. It could be the use of a word, phrase, concept or whatever that seems to set off a few individuals.

Some people on this site express themselves in a manner that would indicate they need professional help. I cannot imagine what such individuals are like in person. Perhaps they like to fight and take pot shots at others with a keyboard.

This forum is not unlike other forums I belong to (flamenco guitar as an example). There are a few loose screws out there and I know a few personally. The reality is that those individuals I know who are attacking others are actually well behaved and civilized when you meet them in person.

Does the Internet change people? Does it isolate them from the responsibility of behaving like a social being? The Internet allows a layer of insulation that is indeed interesting!

Tom