Gould 0738 wrote:

Chuck, do you enjoy the level of OT posting found here?

I don't mind it. If I go to a marine trade event or a yacht club meeting,
everybody is discussing a wide variety of subjects that certainly include
boats. It has been my practice to avoid being among the leaders in initiating
OT posts, but I'm not shy about contributing an opinion to the pot once it's
boiling.

You and I are both guilty of that. But that's a cop out answer. The "I
didn't start it" defense, may justify it to oneself, but the ensuing
banter is equally culpable. It takes two to tango (or debate). Not that
I'm not excluding myself in this catergory either.



Do you enjoy the personal attacks that outnumber the boating-related
posts?

No, of course not. That's a separate issue from the OT posts. In most cases,
the people who resort to personal attack are either not particularly adept in
social discourse, or (more often) become frustrated with a lack of mental or
verbal ability to discuss a subject on an issues basis. That frustration is
often manifest by name-calling and flaming. Such behavior is more commonly
encountered in emotionally charged topics like politics and religion- but it is
also a regular element in on-topic posts.
(Bayliner, anyone?)

Right. So what you're really saying is that off-topic posts would be
welcomed as long as they were handled with some modicum of composure and
decency.

Posting cut and paste Op-Ed articles just to provoke the
all-too-predictable result, is one of the most flagrent forms of
reckless violations of civil discussions.


It's the tone of so many of the posts that is disturbing, more so than the
subject matter. Too many times the group forgets how to disagree without
becoming disagreeable. I'm sure we have all been guilty at times.

Amen to that!

Dave