[C0LLETTE]

So, is that it then? -A lot of things got said.. then some hand waving by the weary, maybe some "agree to disagree" and it's over? I'm not so sure this can all be papered over so easily. It's obviously a contentious issue that keeps rearing up, over and over, and it does seem to invade many diverse threads. Maybe the weary need to let it play itself out.

Of course everyone could also be sent to their respective corners where they could only talk to their own kind but I betcha that wont work and what's the benefit of that. And, to complicate matters, it's not just what we talk about but also how and why we do it: some like the intellectual reasoning and have the vocabulary to do it, some need to vent in whatever terms are immediate; some have heard it all before; and I'm sure there are many more motivations.

Seems to me that the only solution is to: 1. make threads iron clad and have mods jump in at the first hint of divergence or tangent ( likely a path to upheaval) or 2. just let things go, pull out if you feel the thread has lost its bearings and there's little more of interest to you that is being said. The contentious issues wont die but they will go into a gentler coma for a while.

Thing is, there may be thousands of threads listed but there really do seem to be a very few themes. Everyone will surely get their chance again.