I agree. Most of my postings directly respond to or engage the particular HC poster to whom I am responding.
Over time, I have also found that the majority of HC posterites adopt this approach.
Yesterday, in response to a posting by Rembrant, I expressed my concerns, my frustrations, my fervent hopes for the future of HC.
In doing so, I said that "HC is a great community, and so too are all its posters. Today, however, I have been further saddened by what has been going on".
I then went on to say that "(i)t (was)....time for everyone to take some time out, and to grow up in terms of their maturity. The community expects this of all its members, and the future integrity of this forum requires it".
Now, at the risk of repeating myself, I would like to point out that the value of this forum lies in the community of its posters (good, bad or indifferent). All have value, all have a contribution to make, all share a common purpose.
If, however, the degenerative behaviour that is slowly taking over this forum continues to evolve, then the future integrity of this forum will erode, and those of us who are interested in researching propositions, exchanging views, engaging dialogue (including criticsim), and generally learning from the mistakes of life, will slowly drift away and stop posting.
To all other members of Hot Copper, however, it is time to cease and desist, and return to the primary values for which this forum is renowned - stock selection, discussion and information.
Within this setting, all members are welcome (and should be welcomed), whether they be GP, Calrisian, Nickoo, myself, to name just a few, or any of the multitude of other HC posters out there who feel that they have a contribution to make.
All community members, therefore, should now take the time and courtesy of considering this before next considering when, or what, to post their comments on.
I wish everyone a good evening and trust that we will soon find ourselves back on track within the forum setting that is meant to make Hot Copper so great.
