There appears to be some confusion--maybe this will help.
1. Opinion is not the same as fact. Anything can be stated as opinion but if something is stated as fact, documentation and/or references should be available upon request. Expecting others to refute your baseless statements of fact with hard evidence is lazy and rude. If it's worth posting, it's worth verifying. Repeating an opinion frequently will not transform it into fact--not even if it is a widely held opinion. Posting without being able to verify the veracity of what you're posting will eventually brand you as an unreliable source of information. (By the way, even famous people hold incorrect opinions, so repeating OTHERS' opinions as fact, in the absence of corroborating evidence, is also not kosher.)
2. No matter how profound a comment is, it's wasted if the point has already been made on the thread it's posted on. And if it's already been contradicted by well-documented information posted earlier on the thread then it's REALLY a waste. I submit that no matter how valuable your time is, it's well spent reading a thread that you think is important enough to post on. Likewise, if you don't think a thread is important enough to read, then it's probably also not important enough to post on either. Posting on a thread you haven't read is far more likely to make you look like an idiot than it is to enlighten those who read the thread.
3. The words 'BEST' and 'WORST' are not interchangeable with the words 'PERSONAL PREFERENCE'. A gun/caliber/action type is not the best gun/caliber/action type simply because that's what a person prefers nor is it the worst just because he doesn't like it. Regardless of HOW impressive that person's credentials may be. If you find your posts frequently include the words "BEST", "WORST", "ALWAYS", "NEVER", etc., you are probably posting a lot of nonsense.
Am I proposing new rules for internet forums? NO!--these are the basics of information exchange, of polite debate, and of constructive personal interaction in general. This forum is a public place--like a park where people come to talk, exchange information and relax. Failing to follow the general rules of constructive human interaction is equivalent to littering or otherwise creating a nuisance for those trying to use the park/forum constructively.
1. Opinion is not the same as fact. Anything can be stated as opinion but if something is stated as fact, documentation and/or references should be available upon request. Expecting others to refute your baseless statements of fact with hard evidence is lazy and rude. If it's worth posting, it's worth verifying. Repeating an opinion frequently will not transform it into fact--not even if it is a widely held opinion. Posting without being able to verify the veracity of what you're posting will eventually brand you as an unreliable source of information. (By the way, even famous people hold incorrect opinions, so repeating OTHERS' opinions as fact, in the absence of corroborating evidence, is also not kosher.)
2. No matter how profound a comment is, it's wasted if the point has already been made on the thread it's posted on. And if it's already been contradicted by well-documented information posted earlier on the thread then it's REALLY a waste. I submit that no matter how valuable your time is, it's well spent reading a thread that you think is important enough to post on. Likewise, if you don't think a thread is important enough to read, then it's probably also not important enough to post on either. Posting on a thread you haven't read is far more likely to make you look like an idiot than it is to enlighten those who read the thread.
3. The words 'BEST' and 'WORST' are not interchangeable with the words 'PERSONAL PREFERENCE'. A gun/caliber/action type is not the best gun/caliber/action type simply because that's what a person prefers nor is it the worst just because he doesn't like it. Regardless of HOW impressive that person's credentials may be. If you find your posts frequently include the words "BEST", "WORST", "ALWAYS", "NEVER", etc., you are probably posting a lot of nonsense.
Am I proposing new rules for internet forums? NO!--these are the basics of information exchange, of polite debate, and of constructive personal interaction in general. This forum is a public place--like a park where people come to talk, exchange information and relax. Failing to follow the general rules of constructive human interaction is equivalent to littering or otherwise creating a nuisance for those trying to use the park/forum constructively.
