Slow down everyone.
The post I am responding to has 8 quoted extracts.
Welcome to the dogpile. This is a common phenomenon when one person posts material that sixteen others find (in their opinion) easy to refute.
Welcome back Servant2thecause. To properly manage the discussion, you are going to need some strategies, and others are going to need to co-operate as well.
- Everyone else: be patient. Don't demand that your particular point must be addressed immediately, or even at all. Servant2thecause is should be allowed to limit his focus.
- Servant2thecause, you don't need to answer everyone. You should feel free to ignore a number of the threads of discussion, just for the sake of focus. Remember that people have ready answers for you; and you will not be able to close out a topic with a single well argued position.
- The best posts to ignore are the ones which are aggressive, insulting or without substance. It is easy to respond and take high ground, but this usually just generates more response. There are sometimes two ways at looking conduct, and this tactic will just diverge into stuff of little real interest.
- Keep each unrelated responses in different posts. Normally we frown on too many consecutive posts; but two or three on distinct threads of discussion should be okay.
- Take a bit of time on the responses that you do choose to make.
- Feel free to say explicitly which threads of discussion you do not have time to pursue at present. If people take this unfairly and demand that you simply have to address their little hobby horse; I'll try to back you up a bit. Staying on the original thread topic also helps.
I'm not going to respond to the bit which related to my questions on DNA until there is a sign of better focus all around for the thread and we can relax.
Welcome back — Sylas (in genial uncle admin mode)
(Fixed bad link in edit.)
This message has been edited by AdminSylas, 05-15-2004 12:35 AM
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