Message posted by werD on September 17, 2009 at 17:33:27 PST:
So, I'm a bit offended here... but mostly very, very disappointed at the negativity. I have been reading this forum for years. I've read a fair number of books about the area and its history. I have read most of this site, most of it more than a few times. I've not driven all the way down Groom Lake road and made the hike, but I do know the area a bit. I could go on, but I'm not really interested in entering a pissing contest here. I'm pretty sure in my original post that I made an attempt to identify with the "won't you please go away" sentiment that I have felt towards the once-a-month ignorant posts talking of using RC planes to breach the restricted area, and I even invited people to ignore the thread. I flagged the subject as OT, even though it more or less fits with discussion about the base- because I anticipated that some people wouldn't really want to discuss this. But still the response was acidic. This kind of response to posts really needs to stop. I agree, banning UFO and conspiracy theory discussions from the forum makes tons of sense. Responding negatively to people who think that driving into the middle of the desert just to get arrested is somewhat valid, since their actions may put Tikaboo behind the border someday. But this was not in that category. Telling off every forum post by someone who doesn't let off that they are in the 'in group' doesn't help anyone. I made it absolutely clear that I have NO INTEREST in actually carrying this out, I realized from the outset that it would be a very stupid idea- but several posts here assumed that I was planning on carrying this out. I don't appreciate being called a 'kid' or the immediate negativity that showed up. I don't offer agist disrespect to the more seasoned posters here who I respect deeply, and I don't feel I'm due that label. Doing so violates Hank's identified principle of criticizing posts, not people. I've done my best to not step on people's toes in this form, to offer what ideas and knowledge I have... but it's stuff like this that discourages me from participating any more. I hope we can start reading other's posts more carefully and giving people the benefit of the doubt more. A lot of snubbing goes on in any internet forum, but I think the people here are intelligent and respectable enough to hold themselves to a higher standard. I wouldn't have posted here if I didn't so.
In Reply to: Re: What if... (Semi OT) posted by bird dog on September 17, 2009 at 10:45:59 PST:
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