The Big Goodbye Thread

We'll even leave you a nice spot by the fire in the coming winter

 

I knew T2 and Chandos would drive you away eventually.

I blame it on the fact that I only own 1 pair of underwear, and don't wash it more than once/month.

 

Once a month! Are you crazy? You'll wear the fabric to nothing at this rate!

 

Oh no! One voice of reason quitting this insanity! This'll drive the rest of the crew even more bonkers!

Hate to see you go DR...It might not be my place to say, but there's an everlasting battle going on against the trolls and you've been one of the best fighters...

 

This just isn't a good tenday.

 

I am of the opposite opinion, without people who "don't operate on the same bedrock of common sense and reality, and you have to spend hours debunking nonsense, misinformation, and obvious partisan shillery" there is no discussion. It is the people I label as loons that keeps me in the alleys. It is from them I learn the most and get to experience new and funky points of view. A debate is no fun if everyone basically agree. Martaug was a good example, an in my opinion complete loon and he even pmed me what was basically a death threat (do not think it was this that got him banned because I actively refused to report it) but I still found it sad that he finally got himself banned. It is that kind of people who make the alleys interesting.

Sad to see you go and any leisure activity that takes time from more important stuff needs to go, no doubt about that. An option could just be to not post in the alleys unless you are really bored and have nothing else to do. Thats what I do.

 

Oh that's what happened to marty, huh? No surprise there...

 

As is often the case I tend to agree with joacqin (I disagree often with his political stance but rarely with his logic). I actually enjoy seeing an opposite view in the alleys -- people like DR have helped me to see "the other side" and understand the arguments.

 

Of course you need people with opposing opinions... but DR is frustrated with (from what I can tell) with those who have opposite opinions who don't listen and just continue to spit "nonsense, misinformation, and obvious partisan shillery." If someone sticks their fingers in their ears and yells "LALALALALALALA" while you are making a valid point, and then afterwards they continue to righteously repeat the same nonesense that you just debunked, I would be frustrated too.

Very sorry to see you go, DR

 

Yeah but it is those that gets you riled up enough to post. I rarely get worked up enough to post something in response to T2 (I sometimes do and when I have I have had some of the most rewarding discussions I have ever had) cause I know that the conclusion will be that we will "agree to disagree". I know how T2 thinks, I know how a reasonable and rational person think and I can to some extent understand how they reach their conclusions. Often the difference between them and me is one of what points we deem to be more valuable or important. That just isn't any fun. That is how Swedish politics works and why I find American politics so interesting. Sure it is better to have what DR finds lacking here but is it any more fun?

It is the extremists that triggers discussions, that forces us to think and really put our own positions in words. That is one of the reasons I for example tend to take such a strong stance on questions of religion. Trying to trigger responses, to force people to formulate and revise their opinions. If your views never get challenged they quickly grow stale. Even if you never actually change your view a challenge to them forces you to think it through.

People using faulty facts in discussions can be annoying though but that is one reason why I rarely or almost never get involved in discussions where there are "facts" involved. I prefer more ethereal and philosophical discussions. URL spamming holds no interest for me, nor does fact checking. When you introduce facts then you introduce the strong likelyhood of there being an absolute truth and what is the point of a discussion if there is a key just waiting out there and it is just a matter of who finds it first?

 

Wow - lots of positive PM's. Thanks everyone. I'd just like to say that Saber has the right of it.

[EDIT: I had more written here, but it kind of felt like a parting shot, likely to fall on deaf ears anyway. I'll just say Saber has the right idea and leave it at that.]

 

I'll be taking an extended leave from the alleys myself. No elaboration -- anyone who wants to know why can probably figure it out -- but I won't be gone for good. I...need a vacation...and I'm taking it. It is and has been genuinely my pleasure to deal with everyone in the alleys -- especially those thoughtful individuals on "the other side of the fence" -- you are, in fact the very reason I come here. Without the scrutiny of an opposing viewpoint, all any of us would be doing is taking to ourselves. An idea left untested is like Corona without a lime or a commission without a lobotomy*. For now, I'll just go play a little poker -- and maybe I'll finish Star Ocean and Rogue Galaxy. I just got a Wii, so there'll probably be some Metroid Trilogy and Punchout!! thrown in for good measure, too -- hell, maybe I'll even get around to playing God of War -- but the point is that I won't be here. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'm sure I won't be gone for more than a month or two -- sooner or later, I'll do something stupid, bet it all on a sure thing, and exhaust my bankroll at Ultimate Bet, I'll get bored of my PS2 and my shiny new Wii -- and I'll be back.

* Ask T2. He'll at least get the joke, but he probably won't find it very funny.

 

Well, I really hate to see you go, Drew, even for a short while. I look forward to reading your posts on a regular basis and it's one of the reasons I'm still posting in the Alleys. It seems the Alleys are shrinking so much that there is little point in even bothering any longer. The few points of view left are pretty predictable at this point. Maybe you have the right idea. Nevertheless, IMO, there are still a lot of good people here, even those that I bicker and don't agree with sometimes. Enjoy your time away and come back soon...And keep fighting the good fight.

 

I was a mustang Drew, I also find "don't call me sir, I zip my pants in the front" amusing.

 

Well done BTA. Fooled me for a second until I looked at the post date