Sometimes I worry about the BBS’s ingroup bias. There’s a discussion over here about what we can do to prevent single-topic drivebys and it feels awfully… I don’t know… Governmental.
Anyway, I try to remember that I got my start here as a person posting a very unpopular (and frankly thoughtless) opinion. I got the snot kicked out of me by several regulars, but I wasn’t harped on continuously.
I was able to come back, make counter points, and eventually I’ve made a complete 180 on my views regarding that topic. I was forced to think and spend time and effort doing research and talking with people IRL if I wanted to lock horns here and be respected. And eventually, it came down to a choice of adhering to previously held beliefs and dogma, or maintaining my intellectual honesty and integrity, so I changed my mind, since that was the evidence and logic dictated.
TL;DR, I’ll tear into any single-issue troll, especially for my pet-topics. But I do try to keep in mind they’re people, and that I had humble beginnings, so I don’t try to write them off.
