Perhaps the Dumbest Comment of the Year

At the end of the day, we can't escape human nature.  We're all drawn to different personalities and management styles.  30 years ago, I thought I'd be able to get along with anybody.  But as we begin to take a stand on various issues -- even within our little corner of the toy train world, some folks are gonna agree with you... and others are gonna disagree, which in social media circles can involve everything from an anonymous, unknown "block" to an ugly, highly visible personal attack.  And quite often in between those extremes you're likely gonna see a subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) comment directed your way.  It is what it is.  When you're on forums for nearly 20 years, you're gonna see it all.

We also need to realize people are coming into these social platforms at different stages of their lives.  Combine that with varying degrees of personality strengths, and anything is possible.  You can be coming off getting the boot from a forum due to animosities that have been simmering for YEARS, while John Doe just shows up on the scene yesterday with overflowing excitement and all the accompanying prospects of how great it's all gonna be.  I can't tell you how often I saw that happen in spades over on the other big forum.  Again, it is what it is. 

For that reason, I've never asked anybody to fight my battles or "take sides" when controversy arises.  People are gonna feel how they feel.  And we all have our own reasons for feeling how we feel about something, someone or some issue.  If somebody asks me, I'm more than happy to be blunt and not beat around the bush -- but I'll also be objective and fair, while not holding anything back. In 20+ years of being active on a small handful of toy train forums, I've never posted something I'm not proud of posting.  And that's as good a barometer as I can think of these days.  Be proud of what you post.  The internet is forever, and impressions are drawn rather quickly.