It's troubling after almost a week away from FT that some of the flame wars had continued. I guess I had hoped, pollyannishly, that all would be sweetness and light again and nasty words would never be seen in these parts again.

The troubling part is that they threaten to permanently push away people like Catman, whom I've never had the opportunity to meet in person, but without whose presence here, the board would be but a shallow, hollow and decidedly less friendly place.

Per Burkey's point, I've only been here for a little less than a year, so I missed the bad period that caused CATCOP to emerge from his cage, but I think the past few weeks are emblematic of exactly why CATCOP is needed here, to provide a good humored, even tempered hand on the shoulder of the collective board.

Greg