No, you don't have to be nuts; but it certainly helps! Omni is a wonderful escape from the stresses at my office. I never knew how much I truly enjoyed it until Omni was gone for a period of a 1-2 weeks due to egos getting in the way of pleasant posting and reading experiences.

For me personally, I spend an enormous amount of time on technical conference calls. I am in sales and thus am really not needed to participate whatsoever on these calls but my presence is required by the client even though my contribution is zero to none. Participating in Omni truly fills that sense of boredom.

With any open-ended bulletin board, discussions seem to veer toward politics. It always happens. What is bothersome (and I know that I can get myself entangled sometimes) is when a civilized discussion becomes personal. Most of the time, the moderators catch it and nip it in the bud. Sometimes they don't. Keep in mind, the moderators are donating their own time to play policeman. They may not be perfect but they are generous enough with their time to care about the board in which they moderate.

Perhaps not participating in Omni is the right decision for you, Dovster, although I will miss your posts. If Omni annoys you or if you feel your point of view is not taken seriously or is mocked, then it makes perfect sense to find other areas of participation. Nobody needs aggravation.

Enjoy the parts of FT which make you happy. Avoid those which don't.