Gould,
Do you find the majority of the OT posters interests are in flaming and
enjoying the insults instead of actually discussing any subject matter
seriously? While there are a few who enjoy the discussion, most are
interested in calling the people "trash" republican Nazis, liberal
bedwetters, doctor killers, baby

killers or my personal favorites "stupid
technician" and liar.

IMO, this group is not interested in discussing anything except how ignorant
their opposition is.
Then you have a few who enjoy trolling for subjects just to see how easy it
is to start a long running off topic thread.

Making rec.boats no different than the rest of the planet. :-)

Very few people are able to carry on an issues oriented discussion beyond a
single, basic point or two. Some struggle to get that far. We modern folk have
little regard for developing our minds through philosophical discourse. We
acquire our ideas ready made from various televangelizing and political gurus,
and although few of us understand why we hold certain opinions, most of us are
very loyal to our chosen brand of philosophy. Still, we all *feel* (as oppopsed
to think or know) that certain things must somehow be right- and it's human
nature to perceive ideas and people we can't understand as a threat. There are
two customary ways to respond to the threat- one being to eliminate the threat
by fostering understanding and the other to
attempt to drive the threatening element away by making the environment
unpleasant.

We all learn how to call names and argue at a very early age. 2 and 3 year old
kids squabble over toys, and one of the first words used in social interaction
between little babies is "mine!" Not everybody learns to reason and evaluate
ideas separately from personalities, and not everybody learns to treat the
"opposition" with at least minimal courtesy, if not respect. It can be
difficult for any of us to summon up the maturity required to admit that we are
often wrong, that none of our positions or opinions are unquestionable, and
that the horrible person on the "wrong" side of a question probably has a few
valuable points that would help us to grow if we considered them. Even so, I do
believe there are a number of socially productive reasons for all of us to
endeavor to rise above whacking one another with stuffed animals and
hollering'"Mine!" all the time.

Childish insult and flame fests are going to make boring reading, whether
on-topic or off. IMO, the most unpleasant people in a group like this aren't
those who think or believe certain things about boats, politics,
religion, or etc.....the most unpleasant people are those who choose to behave
unpleasantly and have never learned, (or choose to ignore), the basic
conventions of
civil discussion.