"Russell D." wrote in message
...
jeff wrote:


you know...all this name calling bull**** does get a bit tedious and
silly after a while. you fellers don't like one another...or don't
appear to based on what is writ large (too large) here. most of us have
figured that out. i suppose one can become analytical and clinical in
seeking reasons and justifications, but i'd reckon such efforts would be
more productive if applied to other pursuits. my friend jim tells the
story of a graham county fisherman...perhaps one of the best in that
area of the state...who, while transporting him and some others on a
fishing venture (to snowbird i think), tired of their gruff and profane
statements and pulled the truck over to the side of the road. roy bailey
said to them, quietly but in that firm nc mountain-accented voice:
"you'uns is gonna die one of these days." he then pulled back on the
road and continued on without another word on the issue...

i've spent time with each of you (mark, dave, wolfgang...and several
others). enough time to have some sense of who you are. in each
experience, i've discovered a decency, intellect, and kind spirit that
is at odds with the way you interact here with each other. i am simply
incapable of deciphering the reasons, but i have no desire to do so.
it's hurtful to see folks like y'all engaged in this nattering nonsense.
so...quit it. leave one another alone. quit calling each other names.
if you want to disagree about something, let your words focus on the
ideas or concepts or statements about which you disagree... calling each
other an idiot, moron, hypocrit, evil, etc. is meaningless and useless
verbal ping pong.

just my one cent...

jeff (pulling back on the road and continuing on)

POTY, if not the decade.

Thanks for saying what many are feeling.

Russell

Well, Russell, I trust that my good friend Jeff will not take it amiss if I
point out that "POTY" (let alone "decade") is a bit of a stretch. His own
recent trip reports concerning this month's goings on in the southern
Appalachians were, by any standard, at least as good and, in my estimation,
better. That said, no reasonable person could take exception to the
sentiment expressed by him and Wayno and shared by you, me, and sundry
others. The trouble is that we are working within and dealing with a
democratic forum. The majority produce.....and get.....what they want.
When you've got some free time, take a look at thread titles......and who
starts them. Look at how threads morph, when, how, why, and who's
responsible. If all this seems a bit vague and confusing, consider
this......

In just over two years I've put forth in this newsgroup 19 offerings in a
series titled "Forgotten Treasures." 34 threads in all, counting various
parts. In aggregate, they have generated a grand total of 161 posts, not
counting the original post in each thread. This is considerably less than
we find in any one of scores of threads in any given year. Why? Because
it's not what the majority want.......it's not what interests them.

What interests them......what they WANT......is useless verbal ping pong.
So be it.

Of course, if the majority ever wants the idiots, morons, cretins,
illiterates, killers, haters, self-loathers, racists, misogynists, bigots,
assholes, et al. to stop.......well, a large group identifying them by name
and asking them to stop probably wouldn't be a bad first step.

Wolfgang
who, not so incidentally, is the best ping pong player (verbal or otherwise)
he's ever seen.