A few months ago, in one of my very first posts here I happened to criticize what i thought was a particularly tasteless attempt at humor by a long-time member. I got my ass handed to me on a plate, along with having questions raised about my sexual preferences, hereditary lineage, etc. I think one person or two people spoke up in agreement with me, and got their asses kicked too.
It was cool, after all, I don't have a fragile ego, didn't have an overwhelming compulsion to always have the last word, and I admittedly was jumping into unfamiliar territory before reconnoitering the lay of the land. Also it may help that i'm too dumb to know when I'm not wanted! Over time, I 've spent more and more time here, and less and less at other boards I used to frequent like recording.org, prosoundweb, and harmonycentral. There is a certain energy here that is compelling, both positive and negative. And I can be as much of an asshole as the next guy on occasion.
What is remarkable about Newton, is that he has nothing better to do than write and rewrite the history of his homerec interactions again and again ad infinitum. Regardless of how deeply he feels he was the injured party, at some point one would hope that he would recognize that continually banging his head against a brick wall may not be the most efficient (or painless) way of breaking through it.
For instance, I find that one of the best ways to quickly quell a public flame war is to move the debate to private messages. Once the communication is one on one, the public posing and threats to egos become far less important, and real communication has a much better chance.
Meanwhile, what is remarkable about the rest of us is how, to utilize subtractor's imagery, we become like a mindless horde of sharks in a feeding frenzy - piling on to newbies dumb enough to bleed a little into our home waters.
I suppose it can be fun, as I'm sure many members of lynch mobs would gladly attest.
My advice to Newton is, if you still really have any desire to hang around here, come back under a different name. I'm afraid your "Newton" persona is marked for life now. I've seen a couple of others who got off to bad starts here, and it seems they never can fully make amends. The hostility may abate, but it bubbles under the surface and reappears at the slightest provocation.
You're obviously pretty young, if only because most older folks are a little quicker to recognize lost causes, a little better at gauging when a situation is futile, and a little less likely to spend too long tilting at windmills. The art of graceful withdrawal is a useful one to acquire. It may not be as romantic as going down in flames, but the end result is a lot less gory.
And one more piece of unsolicited advice: having the last word is over-rated. You'll get far more respect from your peers (once they get a little older, at least) if you graciously concede every once in a while.
Help me out here.
