Lir didn't have to be banned. S/he could have kept within the fold instead of becoming a lost sheep. Look at me. I'm a wild and crazy guy (with apologies to Steve Martin), but I've managed to avoid being banned, even though I've had sharp disagreements with nearly everyone here. Why just the other day, Mav said, "With friends like you who needs enemies?" The atheists think I'm a "nut" because I believe in God, or worse, because I'm a member of the Unification Church. The Democrats think I'm too pro-Bush; gay rights advocates despise my anti-homosexuality views. And I just got raked over the coals for the umpteenth time over [[global warming]]. But I've survived, despite periodic calls for demotion or banning, because I GO ALONG TO GET ALONG. Anyone can order me around: I am a "servant of servants", like Joseph in Egypt (see Genesis). This is so important that I'm going to draw a box around it! ***************************************** * Lir/Vera needs to pick their battles, * * which means knowing when it's time to * * drop a point and move on to the next * * task. -- Uncle Ed * ***************************************** I miss Lir. Their contributions, when on target, were often nothing short of brilliant. But an obnoxious genius is not welcome anywhere. Lir has to learn how to avoid antagonizing people. Okay, I'm not the world's *greatest* example, but after all the dust has settled, even Mav has said, "You'll always be Uncle Ed in my heart." Ed Poor Wikipedia rights: sysop, developer Other hats: mailing list admin