”I click on links here all the time, especially from one particular poster, that are nearly always a flippant waste of time, John, but I don't hear you moaning about those.

You don’t hear me moaning because I don’t see those links (and, if I do, I don’t click on them) because I follow my own advice which I’ve repeatedly given you - I ignore his posts, I don’t read them, i don’t comment, I just scroll past them. You should try doing the same.

”I keep asking that we stick to the issue, I don't know how many times. If you haven't anything to say, it seems, you'll say something offensive and off-topic.”

I post when I feel I can add to the discussion. My earlier post referring to ‘innocent Gazans’ resulted in excoriation of the use of the word ‘innocent’. That kind of unnecessary, unjustified and, dare I say it, offensive criticism tends to dissipate one’s enthusiasm for contributing to threads and, as a result, I’ve refrained from commenting. However, I still read what others post.

There is nothing ‘offensive’ or ‘off-topic’ in asking that statements purporting to reflect ‘facts’ are supported by a link to the source. It’s perfectly normal practice, and it’s good manners. I provide links where appropriate on my own posts, and I really don’t understand how you can justify claiming that it’s ‘offensive’ to request that others do the same.

”Please let's just comment about the substantive issue to hand.”

I completely agree, I’ve said all I need to say, and I won’t be commenting further.