Sadness. If there is a single word to describe where we have finally found ourselves, it would be this.
Koi boards are born, and die, based on the actions of the members and moderators. It is NOT POSSIBLE to list a modern day koi-board without thinking about the agonizing (and sometimes embarrasing!) history which created/destroyed it. American Ponders is no different. The same forces and dynamic apply. History will judge this board, and it's members, in the same manner it has judged every other board.
The thought that I'd like to leave you with is this: When you open your digital mouth... have something to say. When you address an "issue", make sure it really is, in fact, an "issue". The internet has an infinite memory. We, in contrast, are temporary. Google is a powerful reminder of our own delusional thinking. So think before you type. The best advice I ever heard was this: "Pretend your post will be read by every Ponder for the next 50 years. And pretend your *real* name, and address, and city/state/zipcode was attached to it." (If that isn't a humbling thought, I don't know what is!)
Parting shot: Egos are like that universal discharge oriface located squarely between the cheeks of your gluteus maximus: Everybody has one and they all stink. If you think you've just "won" a battle, you might want to look a little further. The audience is, in fact, watching, and they don't necessarily see it "your" way. The "audience" may consist of thousands, and many times they are a silent majority. So just because your personal cheering section may seem a little louder to you than the "other" side, you would do well to understand this doesn't mean much. By your words and actions, both real and virtual, will you be judged.
We are all human. We have the capacity to think, understand and (gasp!) forgive. I'm hoping the current sillyness here on AP is short-lived and self-correcting. If not, well.... this board will be proof that history repeats itself.
Roark