John,
Congratulations...I followed every update, where I went from 'grating' to carrying 'a certain message' about my peers. ;)
Actually, I don't think I'd be surprised to hear any names associated with the history of this debate - I remember it over on CompuServe and other places. And no, I don't think I understate the 'community intellect' ...many people here eat/live/sleep/breath the industry, and some great and creative solutions have been built.
Good last paragraph...though I thought take #2 was a little better ;)
I think we should just agree to disagree and move along.
Kevin