Apparently I am too battle-worn and rotten to be here. I have deleted my account ... but it looks as if that takes 24 hours, unless Chip bans me first. So I wanted to apologise to anyone who felt I hurt, insulted, bullied, "flamed" or "trolled" them. Truly, I am. It seems I wreak havoc anyplace I go.
I don't recall you ever saying anything that could have done any of the things you mentioned, so I for one see no need to apologize, but that's just me. Sorry to see you go. It seems most of the older people who join (at least that I've noticed anyway) don't stick around for long. I've always wondered why that was...
I don't think you're as "cynical" as you're making yourself out to sound. I think it's more that you HAPPENED to join at a time when there HAPPENED to be a spike in the number of religious threads (which, as we're learning, tends to bring out the debate in all of us best). I can see why people might have been offended; because it was about religion, and it was a debate. That's nobody's fault, it's just how those threads run. If you leave, then so be it, but I'll hope you'll reconsider before going so soon.
To the OP: Nobody said you're too battle worn and rotten to be here. You've come on a bit strong and made some comments that are pretty offensive to a lot of people... but so do a lot of folks. And in some online communities, those sorts of behaviors are par for the course. So sometimes, for folks used to other communities, it takes a little getting used to. If the staff had wanted to ban you (banning decisions are never made by a single staff member) then we would have done so, but as psuedojim said, nothing you did rises to that level. As for me, if I see what I consider to be bad advice or wrong information being given to someone, yes, I'm going to counter it. And so, I would hope, would anyone else counter anything I'm saying if they notice bad or incorrect advice or information that I'm giving out. As a support community run by a nonprofit organization, EC exists as a resource for teens and adults in the coming out process to get reliable information. That's one of the reasons we have two professionals among our staff: so that when there's something that the rest of us aren't sure about, the professional staff can step in and clarify. And fortunately, the community itself is also self-correcting to a large extent; I think we all get used to having others clarify things that we say to ensure that those that look to EC for information find reliable and helpful info that they can rely on. So... if you want to leave, it's your choice. But no one's asking you to leave, only to perhaps tone down your posts and be a little more thoughtful toward others in the community in the way you're communicating.
