CommOri,

I'm sorry that some people here are being very rude to you. You are basically asking "can't we all just get along?" and some people are throwing it back in your face. It's quite sad. In the good ol' days, owning an empeg was good enough to make you "part of the community" but now, some people would rather you leave than voice an opinion they disagree with.

And I share your frustration. People are now saying, "if you don't like politics, don't go into Off Topic." Pretty sad huh? That means no reading about the latest Tivo gadget or whatever.

My only advice would be to steer clear of the political threads. While they can be fun excercises for debate, they are indeed full of hate (though never towards a member of this board). There are plenty of great things about this community that make it worth being a part of. Yes, Off Topic was thrown to the wolves, but that leaves plenty of other places to chat it up. It's too bad that it's not like it used to be when a new member asking for help was met with a dozen people all fighting over who got to help him first (they're more likely to fight over who gets to correct your spelling or posting technique now), but it's still a good bunch of people. I'm even beginning to admire how Bitt and I can have exact opposite views on politics. It's like clockwork! And even though I get out numbered in debates, the threads have been great excercises that allow me to research my replies and put my views to the test. Yet even I have to take a few weeks off from Off Topic once in a while.

But, just to prove your point, I'll be this topic turns to "Bush Lied" by day's end.