I agree with the whole "crank" assessment. I guess I disagree with the idea that "lurkers" are in a way harming the discussions as well. On this forum I am mostly a lurker, I admit it, but there's good reason for it. I love to learn. When I first found this site I tried to get involved in discussions/debates, and I openly upfront admitted that my mind has a hard time grasping science, but I was eager to learn. I kind of got slammed a few times by people whose side I am basically on and that kind of shut me up. I could understand if I were claiming to know things I don't, but I was upfront that I didn't fully understand science and wanted to learn. I can understand posting to me that I'm "wrong" or whatever, what got me was the "acidic tone" used at me for not "knowing". I didn't stop posting and continue lurking so much because I was "hurt", but rather because I realize a lot of people here are far more intelligent than me when it comes to science and I have learned a lot from "lurking" here. I do chime in every now and then on other topics that arise that I am more knowledgable about, but mostly I do just lurk. I hope that lurkers won't be banned from here, because as I've said, this is a great forum where you can really learn a lot, and that's why I've stuck around here, albeit silently.
Melissa
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