Wow, great thread Amos. Naturally the cyber-anonymity (to a certain point) makes us a bit more courageous, but I'm afraid that if we were completely honest in our dealings with each other (and ourselves) we'd find almost instant isolation...and those that seem to welcome that state must live terribly sad lives. One example would be our most vocally vicious Mudcatter...would anyone really want to be in his shoes? And yet... he may also be the most honest in terms of expressing his dislikes.

I think I'll stick to a little dishonesty now and then, rather than risk hurting people's feelings. I realize to some, that's a totally wimpy attitude, but I really like people, even when they irritate the hell out of me. When I've gotten REALLY honest with someone about what I consider an important issue, there's always been a lot of residual fall out, and after a while I often feel sorry for having been too blunt. I often use humour when I'm ticked off (as a reading of some old mudcat posts will attest)

Rick