I was reminded of a post from long ago that I'll parahphrase here.

Most of us are here because we enjoy interacting with and reading the interactions of the friends we have made on this forum, and making new friends on the forum, even though few have met or ever will meet face to face.

It's an unusual community brought together by our interest in early retirement, a topic often misunderstood or awkward to discuss with others, even family. ("Hey Dad, I know you're still working at 70, but now that I'm 40, I'm gona retire" can create some interesting results.) Although brought together by that common interest, we talk about a good many things, as does any such group.

Friends don't always agree on everything or even on most things. They can agree to disagree. When that happens, they might keep their discussions logical and free of name calling and so forth, or more often they just spend their time on other topics. They don't take every opportunity to express their disagreement, incite argument, insult each other, and fan flames. When they are incapable of avoiding this sort of thing, they become much more disruptive than welcome.

Most of us, while we welcome perspectives on all sides of any issue, would not invite a frequently and apparently intentionally disruptive or rude person to a gathering of friends at our homes, nor to any other gathering of friends that they are hosting.

We don't have rules about what is appropriate discussion material. We just ask everyone to follow the "reasonable person" principle. (Reasonable people don't need a definition.)

Thanks to everyone for keeping the tone appropriate for a group of friends. At least the vast majority of the time. Please keep it up!

dory36

ps: and thanks much to the conscripts volunteers who help when things get a bit out of hand. Now there's a thankless task, but you have my sincere thanks!

__________________
Often uninformed, seldom undecided.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain