Ordinarily I don't have much to say on the little flame-ups that start as they often burn out quickly, but on this one I'll stick my neck out a teeny bit, just cus there seems to be some genuinely hurt feelings - maybe due to misunderstanding but hurt or put out nonetheless. We're talking about a post count of 38 to 400+ so:
I'm going to have to agree with stickem about the tone in the "grasshopper" post. I kinda thought it sounded a little snarky, too, both the first time and in review. If it were directed at me, I might've bristled a little.
Since it wasn't though, then maybe I am more willing to give the benefit of the doubt and say that sometimes things don't translate into text with the same jovial flavor we intend when we post it.
And in truth, I think maybe the original comment WAS taken a little personally, judging only by the response.
Both of you are reacting a little bit sensitive so I think its fair to say, no harm meant to each other and it was still a fair exchange of information even if opinions differ.
How about a truce? Since the info that came out of the entire discussion was actually very helpful to me (the OP)? No fighting in front of the children?
Yep, out of context it does sound snarky, but in context I wouldn't change it or apologize for it. stickemup exhibited a classic case of failing to sense the temperature of the environment or all together ignoring it so that he/she could exhibit specialized knowledge (Finite Element Analysis? Fowler micrometers?), which surely he/she couldn't expect more than 1 in 100,000 people to have the slightest idea about. It's pompous ego showboating and it makes the conversation inaccessible to the community. I think this behavior is selfish and is deserving of prodding only because the alternative of ignoring it, imho, allows it to fester; possibly marginalizing a healthy community over time.
Voix, you've claimed to be a female here in the forum; and I'm not trying to win your favor through use of personal relation/sympathy, but on the web in particular, I'm sure you're quite aware of how hard it is to find technical communities that are
not dominated by male-misogenistic-asberger-esque behaviour. This community, however, through either the brain power or maturity of its members manages to quell those raging hormones, and remains surprisingly inviting despite little to no moderation. Quite honestly, that's good for my business, and I'm not shy about saying it.
I know stickemup referred to my tactics ad hominem, and on the surface I might agree, but in context my intention was, what I thought, an obvious guise for social feedback. In retrospect it might have been better to scrap the guise and just say "hey you're being a pompous ass, nobody knows what you're talking about, cool your heals and go read the wiki, come back when your ready to have a conversation with someone other than yourself." But I have doubts that it would have been received any better.
Of course I'm open to anyone's insight on how to better handle such a situation and get the outcome I want without a struggle. In an ideal situation I would have a finite number of people to argue with, and they could be handled in a non-public hand-holding fashion, but here we have an unlimited number of folks rolling through the door everyday, and I'm afraid sometimes someone needs to made into an example for the sake of time and sanity. So I can't always be a scholar and a gentleman (can anyone?).