I'm with Dave on this one. I'm sure many of us were disappointed in the way that thread unfolded, especially in light of Dave's well-earned reputation as a builder of world class frames. C'mon... arguing with Dave about frame measurements is like arguing with Eric Clapton about playing guitar.

I've been zapped by the same person three times now, including once today. In each case, the writer's words were intended to insult instead of enlighten. They had nothing to do with the original post, nor did they offer any new content that would have enhanced the discussion in any meaningful way. I've rewarded him by placing his screen name in my Ignore List.

I don't understand why anyone would want to misuse the Bike Forums by insulting other participants... but then I don't understand why anyone would want to spraypaint railroad cars or kick over trash cans either.

Sure, we all says things from time to time that may not sit right with our fellow readers, but some of this can be attributed to the fact that we are a global community with different ways of expressing ourselves. What's funny to a person living in New South Wales might not be funny at all to someone living in Idaho... and visa versa.

Fortunately, I think most of us are generous enough to overlook cultural differences or the occasional slip of the tongue. Likewise, I think there is plenty of room in these forums for extremely divergent opinions. If my well-reasoned point of view contradicts your well-reasoned point of view, there's nothing that says we have to be enemies because of that. After all, don't we have something very important in common... the love of bicycles and bicycle riding?

I think khuon is right in saying that we can't legislate decency, but I also think that DnvrFox is equally correct in saying that we can control how we react to to indecency. People who post rude or insulting messages are dying to get in a flame war because it makes them feel important and it probably decreases their boredom. The best way to fight them is to completely ignore them, no matter how inappropriate or insulting their comments might be. Eventually, they'll get the message. If they don't, the Mods will get them.