DD,

Agreed. I think Cheryl is in a very dark place, which stop me getting very angry with her. She oozed bitterness that made me quite sad.

diver dan,

I agree with you on that. It isn't what I was talking about though.

Have a good one and see you on another thread

//And, we certainly don't want the likes of the vile Cheryl (foul mouthing us on the Tauber/Channel 7 business).//

Well speak for yourself, ttbn. I found her Glaswegian approach to public debate quite refreshing. She had charm, spirit, and healthy dose of punk. Apparently too healthy a dose for some of the more tumescentantly challenged old fellas amongst us... snowflakes.

But you can't go around disrespecting the Ancient & Enlightened Brotherhood of Men who have Tiny Roosters (No, Seriously, It's Not a Euphemism). Otherwise the AEBMTR(NSINAE) will censor you back to the stone age.

This is one of the problems with OLO... we're too close knit and tribal. We don't welcome outsiders 'round here. To our enormous detriment. Stagnant ponds breed do breed life, but they also stink.

I need to correct an erroneous statement made
about me. I did not give OLO away for a period
of time due to stress. I was away for approximately
six months from the Forum - but as I explained on
my return - this was due to the fact that I was
hospitalised as a result of a very bad fall and the
serious additional problems that followed.
Stress was not involved in my absence from the Forum
at that time.

As for Poirot? She would always argue in a logical
manner. Sound reasoning was her forte and she had the
knack of being able to conquer unreasonable generalisations
every time. She is greatly missed by all who knew her.
Her opinion was valued.

Cheryl?
a link to one of her posts, please.

I don't think this is a men/woman issue. Look at the user list, hundreds of people have signed up but only a handful ever post comments. Men and women have deserted this discussion forum in droves.

I flick through the topics and comment occasionally, but much more rarely than in the past. Why? Because it's rare now to find a genuine discussion. Someone posts a comment or poses a question. Others respond. I tend to limit my replies to topics where I have some factual knowledge or personal experience. I don't mind if the originator or others then challenge me, I enjoy a good debate, and learning from others' experiences or point of view. But that rarely happens anymore. Put up a different opinion and you can get targeted, labelled and put down, or your actual personal experience accused of being false. For some people here, anyone who has a different opinion to them is automatically a leftie. It doesn't matter if their own opinion is more extreme than Stalin, or that my opinion is middle of the road or even libertarian. Anything short of dutiful abeisance to their view means you are a leftie and worse. Maybe especially if you're a woman. This is not debate or discussion, it's intellectual laziness, and clearly I'm not the only one who has concluded that they have better things to do with their time.

PS Thank you, tbbn, for demonstrating my point so brilliantly.