On Wednesday, November 11, 2020 at 11:19:53 PM UTC-5, 2G wrote:
It sounds like Chip has given up on trying to change people's minds by brow-beating them. Good - I am OUTTA HERE!

Sorry, Tom Seim, I hope you recover soon from feeling "browbeaten". In my defense, mostly what I did recently was simply put your most recent words up against your previous statements. It's not my fault if you can't keep track of what you say.

Speaking of which, I found a really funny one from many years ago. Maybe it's a different 2G. He owned a DG400, too. What a coincidence! Or was this you?

On Sunday, February 6, 2005 at 12:42:22 AM UTC-5, 2G wrote:
It always amazes me, but doesn't surprise me, that those who believe
that others are assholes don't realize that they, themselves, are
behaving as assholes.

This is profound stuff, Tom!

Dan Marotta, I concede that a #1 rating for this embarrassment was always out of reach. We'd need 1,400 more views to overtake the 2020 leader. That honor goes to (drum roll) "What have we learned from all this?", by none other than Bob Youngblood, the OP of "The Apology." Neither discussion had much to do with soaring. Bob has made some good contributions on RAS (and to soaring) but he does seem to be of the "There's no such thing as bad publicity" school.

So 3rd place on 2020's Most-Viewed-RAS-Discussions list will have to do, assuming Bob doesn't launch another controversial posting in the next six weeks that rockets to the top.

I haven't been pumping "The Apology" for my amusement. OK, maybe just a little given how easy it is to poke fun at Tom. No, I kept hoping, like Diogenes looking for an honest man, that just ONE person would say something like "I have to admit my initial reaction to this affair was 'much ado about nothing'. But this discussion has made me more aware of how the things we say and do can impact others who have different perspectives. Soaring is a small enough world and we need to respect each other."

Yeah, pretty naive.

Chip Bearden
JB

PS: For the record, the 2nd-most-viewed RAS thread this year, also out of reach, is "Best Overall Motorglider available today?" This was an interesting discussion kicked off by Nick Kennedy and a good example of how useful RAS can be.