If some of you, like me, have been struggling to better understand the conflict, go to the Fire Rodney Terry thread and start with post 2060. Then quickly scan the Derka interactions to the end. You will see three things happening:
1. Derka banging the concept strongly (irritatingly?) that Terry was the wrong choice and a lot of posters unhappy with that.
2. Some pretty aggressive responses to his views.
3. Him pointing out that aggressiveness.
4. A few subtle shots at him.
I compared my thought process when I originally read those posts awhile back to when I read them now.
When I scan threads I usually do it quickly and skip over stuff, never reading anything too closely. Originally, I remember thinking that Derka always calls other posters combative when they are just disagreeing with him. So it seemed like he was starting fights.
Now when I read them after seeing this thread I do see how some of the comments towards him are either more aggressive or subtle jabs. The reason I didn’t notice them before is because I often see other people on the receiving end of similar styles of posts.
So in my opinion, I see both sides of the issue. Derka probably is the recipient of more aggressive posts. There are other posters on surly that also are often on the receiving end of aggressive posts. Derka struggles more than others to take that, and hence this thread.
Maybe everyone on this site should just tone down the rhetoric a bit in general. Being personally mean to people isn’t very healthy for anyone.