I confess, I often respond or comment in a partisan manner. But how often do I initiate provocative threads, you know, the kind that start off with a slammer calculated to pick a fight? Sure, everybody does it every now and then, but cruising the net for little gems that can be thrown to the dogs and start a fight, day after day after day...often several times a day? Or jumping on every comment that deviates even slightly from someone's idea of political correctness...

Think about Geek Speak, I rarely post there but often peruse it. How would you like it if it degenerated into CE, O-T, or even Space mode? It's only a matter of time, you know? Then I guess we'll hear the usual excuse, "...but you can't separate technical and political issues...".

No, I'm not suggesting a point system, just a little restraint. I don't think any topic should be excluded from these boards, but surely you must admit that this has gone much too far. I'm not trying to stop political debate, I'm trying to tone it down to the point where the forum is no longer dedicated to it and dominated by it. Is that really too much to ask?