You were quite deliberately stifling debate if not deliberately working to close the thread, which I doubt.

This is speculation which, as we have seen before, is the cause of so much nastiness on threads. Opinions and speculation can be disputed. Facts cannot. Neither do I see small talk as stifling, but that is, of course, only my opinion and you are welcome to dispute it. Small talk will often find that common ground that the opening article speaks of. Music, beer, weather, holidays, anything. They are all part of what and who we are and the more we discover about each other, the better we will get on.