I quite agree with the gist of the thread, though clearly the original post was typed in some agitation.

The atmosphere here in the Backroom is not one of healthy debate but of poison. Threads are often deliberately imflammatory and too quickly dissolve into off-topic rants, name-calling and pettiness. Hardly ever does someone say "yes mate, on second thoughts you have a point" so how effective are the arguments on display?

Even when there are attempts at apologies, retractions and reconciliation they are shot down in flames. Often accompanied by a sense of smugness and the scoring of cheap and irrelevant political or personal points. This can be clearly seen in this very thread - just look at DevDave's post as a prime example.

If I wasn't an insomniac I wouldn't even bother......