Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
snip

1 - As a relative newbie here, I'm startled by the complete and total
lack of humor. There are very few here who are willing to participate
in a little off-topic goofiness or some virtual hi-jinks and when it
does occur, it's over with in a flash.

2 - Most of the OT participants, with a couple of exceptions, don't
know what they are talking about. Even more to the point, if they do
indeed know what they are talking about, that is put aside in order to
call their virtual antagonists festering pustules or leprous lunatics.
Civil discourse is non-existent. Probing and discussing in order to
learn what areas of agreement exist isn't a technique.

This newsgroup reminds me of Frank Herbet's "Whipping Star" and "The
Dosadi Experiment" alien race, the Gowachin. The following is a
quote:

"In a Gowachin trial, everything is on trial: every participant,
including the judges; every law; even the foundational precept of
Gowachin law. Legal ideas from other systems are turned on their head:
someone pronounced "innocent" (guilty in other terms) by the court is
torn to pieces by angry spectators; judges may have bias ("if I can
decide for my side, I will"), though not prejudice ("I will decide for
my side, regardless"); defendant and plaintiff are chosen at trial by
the side bringing the complaint choosing one role or the other;
torture is permitted; all procedural rules may be violated, but only
by finding conflict within procedural rules."

Substitute trial and laws for newsgroup procedure and you have an
exact description.

3 - There is no, zero/zip/nada discipline in this newsgroup. None.
It doesn't exist. Add to that folks who are constantly on the verge
of a depressive cycle and you get what you got.

Can you do anything about it?

Nope. It's a free speech country, although I suspect that if the UN
got it's grimy clutches on the Internet, we wouldn't be having this
discussion in any shape, way or form.

What would affect the group is if everyone, including me I must
confess, refrained from republishing entire articles, or editing
articles to suit their own viewpoint (which I don't do), or, and this
would be the hardest, treat your virtual enemy as your friend instead.

In closing, I try very hard to get along with everybody. I did it in
my professional career and I try to do it in setting like this and
social settings at home. It's not that I don't have my own likes and
dislikes. There are businessmen and engineering department heads who
despise me and I them, but they still call me to help when they are
stuck because they know that I'll keep it professional and get it
done.

Out of the regular membership who contribute here, there are probably
two in total who I would have some trouble dealing with in real life,
but that doesn't mean I can't discuss issues in a calm and equitable
way. There are too many hard heads here who take a position and stick
with it through thick and thin without even giving it any rational
thought.

In conclusion - it's all about ****ing on each other's shoes here -
just the way it is.

And now I have a headache and need some caffeine.

Diet Pepsi style. :)

I think you deserve 'the real thing' after that!
Treat yourself to a 'Coke'.