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Posted by: Shai Hulud
I respectfully disagree, Sir Cumference. I don't see why it's necessary for me to conform to a community that, according to elmicker, B.B.,and atomic weggie, would do better without me. I think their statements are in poor taste and that they are incapable of actually speaking for the community. I think this place can be bettered. I haven't quite figured out how to do that, but that doesn't make me a hypocrite or an incessant whiner. At least I'm willing to try to do something. However, if the community is actually so opposed to my presence as elmicker and his ilk say it is, then perhaps I'll leave. We'll see what the outcome of this is...
And if the community truly wishes to reject those who wish to help out, then I don't think anyone can hold a positive opinion of this place without being an arrogant, self-centered prick.Personally, I've been impressed by you in the past. Your apology thread from last January was humble and touching, and I've never seen anything you posted here outrage my conscience, despite the fact that I don't always see things the way you do. That is why, although I disagreed with you, it was a respectful disagreement and I went to great lengths to explain why I simply saw things differently.
I think that a lot of the hostility in this thread from all of the various posters is somewhat unwarranted, but also understandable. It mostly boils down to seeing the same thing in different ways. I'm not going to make this a "can't we all just get along" post (mostly because they don't work), nor am I going to assign any fault. But I will say that it's disappointing to see how things have deteriorated past the second page of this thread.
Perhaps it's because of my line of work, but I can totally see the validity of all of the various viewpoints in this thread. Flaming and insults aside, the basics of the current conflict are that one side thinks that due to his long absence, Shai has no ability or perspective that would allow him to truly opine on the state of the Community. They also see Shai's original post as an insult to the Community due to its provocative tone near the end of the post and its lack of solutions to the alleged "problem" with the Community. The other side, obviously, thinks that mere non-participation should not be a bar to commenting on the current state of affairs, and also tends to agree with the original post. If it were possible to discuss this issue civilly, this topic would be worthy of its own thread and would probably be an extremely engaging and interesting debate.
Although I have my own perspective on this particular issue and I'm willing to argue it, I've hesitated to jump back into this discussion at this point after my one post on page 2. This is because, in my opinion, the discussion's rather passionate intensity and the hostility I see are unproductive and perhaps a bit overdramatic. Again, I'm not pointing fingers at either side, but I just don't want to get involved in all of the hyperbole and emotion that have eclipsed the original issue.
I understand that the conversation has migrated somewhat, Shai, but if you get a chance, I'd like to see your response to my post on the second page of this thread, which is far more on point for this thread's original purpose. Not that I'm trying to "guide" things back on topic (because I kind of like the way these Septagon threads tend to "evolve"), but I was rather disappointed at the nasty turn that this thread took. At this rate, it won't be long until the thread is locked for being too far gone to allow for any further meaningful discussion. And that would be a shame, because I am enjoying the discussion and the more civil arguments being raised by everybody who has posted here.