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There is a fine line between robust debate & personal insult - which some people don't get - not to mention the fact that what is obviously a joke to one person can be taken the wrong way by others - some people have objected to posts of mine which they considered 'offensive' when I was making jokes, or even simply quoting from comedy sketches - those who were offended didn't get the references. Some people are very eager to complain, but, as I know well, there is a line there & the mods/admins don't allow it to be crossed.
Now, there are some people you can argue with, even robustly - because you know them & they can take it. Its like water off a duck's back to them & they will come back fighting. Narfforc has a thick skin, a thick skull & a sharp tongue & is afraid of nothing & no-one, having spent many years in the British Army ('Her Majesty's Royal Straitjackets 'I think it was) & can kill a man at fifty yards with only a prongless plastic fork & a mean sneer. Others are more sensitive & can take what is intended as an innocent joke or snappy comeback as a hurtful insult.
You see - I know Narfforc in RL & he knows me. He knows I don't mean any offence & that I respect him as a friend & as an incredibly knowledgeable Tolkien fan, so he will (I hope) take what I just said in the jokey spirit in which it was intended - of course, if he reaches for the plastic fork I'll know I'm in trouble.
In short, wait till you know people. Don't leave though.
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