"I miss those guys and was always fascinated by what they had to say."
I was just having a chat with a BPL friend about this. He commented on the seeming increase in incivility on these forums over the last couple of years, and wondered if that wasn't a contributing factor to the lack of Ryan's, Roman's, et al's presence on the forums. I think he's, perhaps, on to something.
I haven't been on the boards very long, but I do remember the thread where people went ballistic about the pak rifle piece Ryan wrote. That was, I think, the first time I saw real, extended nastiness on the forum, and it wasn't pretty. The carbon flame war thread often devolved into name calling and general nastiness. There have been others. Some folks just can't seem to be civil to each other at all, regardless of topic. Some just seem to have a need to disparage others for no real reason. Just an overall, too often displayed lack of civility, and not just in winter.
Unfortunately, I've been guilty as well, much to my dismay. I guess we all have buttons that when pushed make us less civil than we'd like! But we don't have to allow it to linger in post after post after post. (after post).
But it also seems to me that there are too many people, some of whom are on these forums, who are just waiting for a chance to be insulted or upset. Comments are so quickly taken in the worse context they can be, and then the lack of civility reigns. It's kind of sad, really.
Life is way too short, as I've been shown in a very personal way. Why spend it angry, insulted, upset, etc? Why the need to disparage those who simply don't think like you do?
Now I'm not suggesting we all hold hands and sing Kumbaya. But I'd go for a good laugh over some fine single malt over the nastiness that pervades these forums all too often.
FWIW.
