Ziroc, great post and I'm terribly sorry about your mother. I truly hoped that she would have improved and all would have been fine
. However, I'm glad that you have created a new forum for the war on terrorism. Though I have no doubts that it will clean the GD, I cannot see how it will fix the "flame" problem. It seems to me that we are just displacing the problem, not fixing it.
I know that many of us try our hardest to share our opinions while respecting those and the dignity of others. Still, some toes are steped on and some feelings are hurt. If this happens to anyone, please E-MAIL the other party and try to resolve the problem. However tempting, do not reply to the post as it only makes thing worst. Also, if someone e-mails you telling you that he's been hurt or felt attacked by one of your posts, please come back and edit your post. I'm sure that you can find a way to share your opinion without hurting other.
Remember that it's OK to attack an idea, it's not OK to attack the person behind the idea. On the other hand, remember that if someone attacks your ideas, he's not attacking you.
I remember a thread about a month and a half ago where some of us were discussing a new member's ability to express himself and his maturity following that member's initial post. At the time I felt like I was defending the new member and actually helping the situation. Now, I realized that I made things worst because my comments led to more replies that were detrimental to that member. It's amazing all the mistakes you wish you could fix in insight.
One final happier note: Moni, glad to see you're back (big hug and big kisses on the cheeks... it's a Frenchmen thing
)... now, let's just hope that Moiraine sticks around.
[This message has been edited by Ryanamur (edited 10-12-2001).]