Though I would welcome back all of those banned over this discussion, I suspect they have become too deeply entrenched in their positions to appreciate the offer. Of those involved I am most surprised and disappointed with Collipso’s reaction…I had previously considered him to be much more sympathetic and thoughtful.
Frink has long been a catalyst to this site–sometimes to positive, while other times to negative, effect. Without his wit we shall lose some array of humour…and without Possessed we shall lack his acerbic charm, but I have marveled at Jay’s restraint for many months and am truly not surprised he has reached the conclusion he has. The attacks against his character have been disproportionate to his typical handling of disagreements and required some form of response. For an individual who subsidizes the cost of this site both financially and through a great deal of time, he deserves far more respect than he has been receiving…simple decorum alone should recommend all here to appreciate that we all have been given the privilege to interact here solely due to his largess…we are guests and so should acknowledge that at the very least.
Further, his responses in the politics thread have generally been fairly reasonable and thought-out. They have not been baiting so as to draw an opponent into a crossfire and have not been unsupportable rants of pure emotion…they have been considerate, calm, focused, consistent, and mature.
Even if one might not agree with all or any of his comments or arguments there is absolutely no justification for reducing debate to personal insults or attacks. I would strongly encourage a return of the politics thread, but would equally imagine it might need frequent periods of temporary lock-down. Further, I would encourage a very strict deletion of any posts that slide into personal attacks of any fashion. All here are perfectly capable of discussing topics without attempting to undermine the person against whom they disagree. We are a long way from primary school, ladies and gentlemen…