aloft said:
Chris, I don't think you have a clue as to how abrasive your attitude is, nor when it's engaged and when it isn't. The fact that you seem to think it's okay to act differently here than you claim to IRL simply proves that you don't understand how important it is to get along with everyone in this industry. It's just too small to think that you can get away with being a d*ck when you feel like it. This field is all about networking, man; don't think that because the bridges you see built via this site seem "virtual" to you, that they're not subject to being burnt. I'm just trying to help you out, here; dudes have had newhire class dates rescinded due to stuff they'd previously posted online. I've seen it happen more than once.
Is that what you call tact? You're as subtle as a brick in the small of my back. The way to go about that would've been to PM me your concerns rather than follow me through every thread and post BS and try and make me the JC whipping boy. I do believe the impetus to all this was dropping my name in a thread a month or so ago that I had not posted in, and you decided to use me as the posterchild for what's wrong in the industry (despite the fact that you based this opinion on nothing other than pure conjecture). You've dropped the "scab" word on me based on another factless opinion. You're not there to "help" me, Matt, you're committing character assassination.
I'll admit that sometimes I do go (purposefully) overboard, but you'll notice that I try to limit that to the political threads, because a lot of fallacious logic is thrown around there. I'm a proponent of considering all sides of an issue rather than make rampant generalizations. However, you'll notice that I
do! make rampant generalizations, and you see how absurd they are, right? That's exactly the point, to show that people making similar generalizations are sometimes being absurd, even if it's consensual amongst societal mores. (I hate being one of those "name droppers" but by reading Jonathan Swift, you'd understand my POV/writing style a lot more). The internet should help us foster discussion amongst both sides of an issue rather than hinder it. You'd be surprised by the PMs or AOL IMs I get saying, "Thanks for saying that, I wanted to say it, but the debate was so one-sided... I thought I was going crazy!" or similar
As far as I'm concerned, having an opinion about something shouldn't burn any bridges. However, I realize that others hold differing values and it may bother people that I try to triumph unpopular ideas. However, there's a difference in handling it maturely. For example, John Herreshof and I got off to a rough start (admittedly my fault) and while we often argue, I think if we were put in a room together, we'd get along fine. So to those people who
did take care of this professionally and maturely(those ignoring me, though this is futile), Lloyd and I believe Acadia, I'll apologize for anything that has truly offended, because that has never been my intention. To those who lower themselves (maybe raise themselves, I don't know how low you are) to name calling and a mind-numbing display of e-hubris, I have no remorse.
Edit: And I have been trying to chill it off a bit, but it's sort of difficult when you've become the whipping boy "conservative" on the board, when all I'm opposed to is blatent partisanship
