I have been a member of this board for a long time. Since 1997 or 1998. I changed my user name a couple of years ago with moderator permission for no sinister reason. I used to post under the name Ag80. I say this because, despite my low post count, I’ve seen a lot and learned a lot. I continue to find this board a great source of information and opinion.
That said, I really have to give a big thank you to december. I know his very name raises the hackles of many on this board, but I have my reasons.
Once you get past the usual assaults on his politics and intellgence, he really seems to be able to draw out the best (and worst) of the board.
I probably have learned more from reading responses to his OPs than from any of the responses to OPs of any other member of the SDMB community. Sometimes I agree and sometimes I don’t, but I always learn something. And I’m always astonished at the depth of knowledge the SDMB represents.
I know december is a lightning rod of emotion for many. However, personally, the responses he generates have made me a better educated member of this community.
I post this in the BBQ Pit because I want everyone to respond as freely as possible.
And since this is the Pit, your grandmother wears Army boots.
Actually, from what I notice, most of the december OPs which turn into real debates seem to get that way despite his efforts. Someone like IzzyR, Scylla, Sam Stone, or any number of other posters will try to turn his mess of a prejudiced/flamefest OP into a few salient points which then get debated. He’s a catalyst, but it’s more like he takes a dump in the forum, a bunch of people express their disgust at his crudeness, then someone comes in and cleans up his mess and debate insues. It’s more a function of the other forum participants, who are trying to stay true to the goal of the forum, who continually dig through the slop he dumps and find things to debate in the name of keeping the thread from being a waste of bandwidth.
In a sense I agree that he brings out the best, and worst, in many dopers. I just think the best would come out on its own. I’ve seen plenty of worthwhile threads that were not started by december.
The fact that, as MtgMan said, december effectively does drive-by postings in both GD and the Pit, and that those threads occasionally develop into rational debates (sometimes, seemingly, contrary to how he’s posting) does not mean he warrants accolade any more than if someone were to rear-end you, and at the auto body shop, a tune-up discovered a faulty brake light. If anything, the people around here who sometimes have to correct december’s latest screed deserve your praise.
It’s when a person posts, asserting something as fact, or just stating an opinion, and never returns to address the responses or defend their statement.
december is far from being the “drive by OP” King. There are a few exceedingly popular posters here who are notorious for the cowardly act of starting a controversial OP, and then never returning again, even when it stretches into 5 pages, except perhaps once or twice to flirt with someone, or make a “witty” statement to show how they are “King/Queen of Comedy”. :rolleyes:
Those people deserve castigation before december. At least december stays in the threads for a while and continues the conversation.
Oh come one, iampunha. Of december’s many faults, drive by posting is not among them. I can’t recall the last thread where he didn’t stick around to defend his OP. He may have used faulty arguments, spin, invented facts, op-eds, and bizarre logic…but drive-bys (drive-bies? drive byes?)? Not in threads he starts and no more than most other posters in threads he doesn’t start.
With all due respect, I’m afraid I’ll have to disagree here. december doesn’t do much that would qualify as conversation. The majority of his posts seem to be simpe re-stating his points virtually verbaitm, ignoring, or summarially dismissing the points others make, hijacking his own thread, straw men, red herrings, the list goes on and on. If this is holding his end of a conversation then I guess I’m just a jerk for expecting a higher level of discourse in Great Debates.
