Northerner - You seem angry, which makes me wonder if you feel this vote is targeted at you. Here are my views on your earlier post, at the risk of being on the receiving end of your ire...
The things you complain about: people writing about "a pillock doing a silly dance", saying "I'm not going to be bullied on to camp sites owned by some fat councillor" and "the Olympics of being mired in extortion and corruption" are simply their points of view, sometimes silly, sometimes funny - and we all know that people's sense of humour varies widely. Saying the second comment ("fat councillor") was "insulting, untrue and probably libellous" is as daft as the original comment - an individual being insulted and defamed would have to be named. You don't have to rise to argument about comments that irritate you - you could rise above things you think are ridiculous. I don't think anyone described a "lollipop lady with fifty years of service whose chance to carry the Olympic torch is a dream come true" as "a 'twat mincing down the road'" - you're conflating. In my world, saying people have "the IQ of a goldfish" might be funny, but saying they're "nasty idiots" is a step too far.
We all get heated about things we care about and sometimes we don't make sense, but you are experienced and knowledgeable so you must know that everyone thinks and feels differently, everyone has a completely unqiue experience of life. You know things I don't and I know things you don't. I would hope this forum at least helps us to learn from how other people think - and especially helps us support each other in the things we share, which I thought was wild camping.
Forums like this operate well with a kind of public Chatham House rule, where we can feel free to express ourselves, be true to how we feel, and get to say things that might not stand up in court. The limit on that freedom in this kind of forum (which isn't a perfectly free arena) is to reflect before reacting, try to see the funny side, try not to care too much.
I've just spent a long time reflecting, trying to decide whether to hit 'submit' at all. I've re-read it several times, trying to imagine what people might think about me - perhaps they'd think I'm pontificating, that it's not my place to speak about this, that I'm being superior or know-it-all, or criticizing. Perhaps Northerner thinks I'm another person as "rude, pig ignorant and unintelligent as anyone on here". I know that I'm not trying to offend - and that I'm trying not to offend. But who knows what other people's responses will be? Maybe I'll be banned! The best you/I can do is think carefully, edit out the crass stuff, be clear when I'm joking etc. Here goes...
*ducks, waits for flack*
