A rather stupid and navel-gazing thread, are we? I happen to like the stupid and navel-gazing threads. I have started a few myself. And for all I know will start others in future.

This may be off-topic, but on a number of non-music non-folklore threads in the BS section, I have observed another distinction. There are members whose posts are hard-edged and opinionated, consistently so, and when others respond to them, these members can genuinely take or leave what comes. And there are members whose posts have more than a little verbal aggression in them, who interestingly can get very touchy about how others respond to them.

On one thread, which was BS but still focussed on poetry, literature, and culture, I enjoyed exchanging posts with a certain member -- mind you, these were thread posts, not PMs, they were public and anybody (even the guests who couldn't post) could view our back-and-forth. The on-thread conversation was amicable and cordial, and it would please me to converse with the other member on that kind of subject -- television, short stories, novels, etc -- anytime. As I am conflict-averse, I stay off the threads on which this same member maintains their reputation for being opinionated and set in their ways.

But I think more of this member, even if I disagree with their position or if their manner in debate makes me anxious, because this person genuinely understands that they are not the center of the universe and does not worry about what others think of them.