I read the board, but only post infrequently anymore, and I would just like to say that *I*'m glad you spoke up.

Then take the break. There's nothing wrong with it, and if it's better for your mental health for a while, then there's everything right with it.

And yes, it gets repeditive, but when it's a result of doing something very worthwhile.....

Besides.. just because someone throws down the gauntlet, are you absolutely required to pick it up?

I've always looked forward to the day I see a really stupid, heated pit post followed by absolutely no response.

I tell ya, Esprix, you gotta learn to pick your fights. Getting the last word in is not a moral imperative, nor is always responding to those who intentionally try to get your goat. For some it's a game, and you're playing right along. If you ease off on the Crusading Cocksucker routine a bit, you'll garner less of a reputation in the "one trick pony" arena, and might find yourself the subject of pit threads more often.

You've heard it from me before, and I know you don't care for my opinion, but that's the way I see it. If you insist on painting day-glo targets on your buttons, don't be surprised when people tweak them just for fun.

JOhn.

I looked at the pit thread you linked to, and wasn't getting the impression you were personally being flamed. That thread seemed to be wandering around puposelessly.

I have not looked at the other thread you referred to, so I can't say whether it is just you they are responding to or something else. I responded based solely on what you posted here.

Personally, I gave up on the Dope. Too many people post there with closed minds. The goal might be fighting ignorance, but most of the people who post there in the non-trivial threads have their minds made up already and no well-reasoned refutation is going to change that. The same arguments get hashed out season after season and nothing really changes. To me it became little more than grade-school gossipers ("Did you hear what Sally said about Sam? Oh, my god, I got to tell everyone!") so I have pretty much given up on it entirely. Maybe you and others find some use in it, but when you can guage the season by when certain people get pitted, it's not really making any forward progress.

Take this for what you paid for it, of course.

JOhn.

I know you're mad at me right now, but the point is Esprix, even if those comments like 'can I watch' were stupid, at some point you've got to wonder, is it worth it to go through all the shit.

You can say your fighting ignorance all you want, but even the lesbians who AGREED with you, some of them said they weren't sure it was worth calling out folks as homophobes, haters or gaybashers, and someone even fucking suggested CASTRATION for someone who dared to utter a lesbian joke.

Are there NOT bigger fish to fry in the world? I've been told forty five thousand times to LIGHTEN UP in my view of rape jokes, why is it wrong for people to tell you the same?

Jesus CHRIST. I responded TWICE to that thread and once was in response to GOBEAR. I said I thought the OP was a bit over the top, asked Gobear for clarification and was OUT.

I'm not on any bandwagon, unless you consider anyone who questions your OP to be against you.

Oh well then. All the best. I hope you find a few spare moments to enjoy your life

Cee-ripes, on a board fighting ignorance you got flamed for trying to get people to stop saying offensive/ignorant things?

Half the battle against ignorance, and intolerance as well, is just pointing things out to people that they may not have noticed. Before I came to the SDMB, I didn't think of "gyp" as an offensive word. I had a vague knowledge of its origins, but didn't think anything of it. It was the reactions to, and discussions of, that word on the boards that showed me that it is a very sharp word, and one with many connotations I would never want to intend. Consequently, whenever I find myself about to say "What a gyp" I consciously remind myself to say "What a rip-off" instead. It's starting to become second nature, but I would still be using that word if people hadn't pointed out how offensive it is.

Reminding people that the things they say are hurtful and ignorant is important. I don't understand why someone's panties got bunched because you do that kind of thing often (and well). I don't recall ever thinking, "Wow, Esprix really went out of his way to get offended there." Your Trick -- and honestly, you've got far more substance to you than just one Trick -- is in keeping with the whole aim of the SDMB. Can one really say that about the flames that have been directed against you?

i barely participate in the boards. the reason you're being picked on? because you contribute a lot to that community and in doing so, become a visible target. this is why i tend to hide. so speaking as a lurker, i'd like to say i have the utmost respect for anyone willing to speak out on something they see as ignorant and wrong. no, people will not always agree with you, and yeah you get shit for it, but still you come back and call them on it again, regardless. that takes strength and you should be proud of yourself for making a stance, even though your prior experience told you that you might get shit for it. i admire that you did it a great deal, and don't have the sort of guts it takes for what you've done and keep doing despite the assholes. FWIW, i'm proud of you :)

this is because people suck.

course, nice people swallow.