Uh hem, this forum is a think tank of Think Tankers sometimes.

It just needs an intellectual moderator, a tone setter, one who can keep discussion loose and interesting.

Who are the Top 10 Best Posters in Think Tanks? (Not wall posters, people who write their thoughts out on the forum here...aw, you know what I mean...)

Me, I just eat dry toast, I get no waffles.

One of them is not 44.

Here's my list in no particular order:

Stinker (the big nerf-hammer sissy)
-z-
OM
Pais, the list maker
Tally, the linguist
KBC, the graphics man
Chief, matter-of-fact man
TG
JB
Flea and 56K, the one-liner duo

And I tip my hat to Pokemalo. He could string a thought or two together...

What do you think makes a good thread?

What makes your brain's wheels start to turn?

This has been a pretty good place for a political discussion. Some of it has been inane (uh huh), some average, and some of it downright sharp. Stink has been pulling the progressive left-side intellectual wagon all by hisself.

Occasionally 44.

Last edited: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 at 9:50:54 PM

Honorable mention:

Hugobrain (just hasn't gotten involved much)
Rabban (no purple hearts plz)
Baba (wit is in dry dock at the moment...)
Gnomie (the Arch Bishop)

Hehe...just don't spam.

A lot of dry dock going around.
Mb its the eternal winter.

@ JJ

Thanks for the compliment - methinks you should also include yourself on the list. I only disagree with one mention - or rather non-mention. Where would we be without 44's creation of the infamous "Swifties" thread?

A whole lot of man hours went into us all trying to convince the other they were crazier'en hell (South Carolina adjective - kinda like "gettin' ready to").

Dont' forget about are sweet and pretty TG she has had some very good topics B)

@JJ - thanks for the mention, though I don't know if I should be on that list anymore. I've been staying clear of the political threads (the few that are still around) lately. And I understand stink's reasons for stepping away from them. Those threads have just become too emotionally charged for me. All I was doing was pissing myself off - not pleasurable.
You righties have the upper hand right now, because, if you chose to, you'd only need to sit back and snicker at our displeasure over the state of things. Not saying that you do that, quite the contrary, but it's the lefties burden to prove our point, since we're the ones that are so displeased.
Ah, anyway, thanks again for the compliment. You've got a pretty good list there. It's always fun to see what the intelligent people here have to say, and sometimes even the not so intelligent. :)

Thanks for the mention. I think PTT has helped sharpen me in some areas and made me dumberer in others.

I like James' threads and TG's come up with some good ones. Stink usually starts off well enough, but then he gets PO'ed.

I've been missing a good thread lately and wish there was a topic we could all deeply discuss without it turning into a slugfest.

_{That purple heart thread did get some folks upset, didn't it? (Though I stand by my observation.)}

Last edited: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 at 6:53:21 AM

@ Chief and OM

Chief, I did mention 44. We owe him a debt…of something. ;) (It's down there at the bottom.)

OM, emotional/intellectual sparring is not a bad thing when it keeps a basic concern for other people. This correct?

Stinker's ranting gets a little blue (sometimes deeper) but under it he seems to have some concern for others in mind. (Blue as in off-color, not B.B. King.)

Where the line is in tough discussions is a matter of opinion. It may overwhelm you at times, but necessarily a bad thing?

It is more important to use reason when you think rather than use emotion when you think, true?

Or, try this:

It's more important not to use emotion than it is not important to use belief. *haw*

When this discussion of propriety [propriety: the quality or condition of being proper or fitting] in discussion comes up, I always remember an interview that I saw of a professional hockey player who was responding to the game’s violence.

He said that if you grow up in a polite neighborhood playing hockey, any hard body check may be seen as a provoke and offensive. However, if you grow up in a tough neighborhood like he did then it depends on how the body check is given. The intent is what matters.

Sometimes like Stinker, I am not always into a type of wine-and-cheese conversation.

A great thing is a good thought-provoking intellectual kicking-the-can debate.

I confess, I enjoy yanking a chain or two. I pledge to stop as of this moment.

;)

Last edited: Thursday, March 03, 2005 at 8:41:21 AM

@ Rabban

Observation damage gets no purple hearts here, I'm afraid.

Walk onto the firing range at your risk. :)

^ loves waffles because he is missing some teeth

Another great post. Perhaps these may lure Stinky out of the cabin in which he is working on his "Stinkmaster Manifesto."

@ OM et al.

*Apologies for laggy response, due to work intervention*

Did want to comment on your irkedness -- for that matter on all leftie irkness or pissedness over the current political situation -- and this forum.

This forum is not the political contest. GW is not going to go Congress tomorrow and slap down his resignation, saying: "Well, I got a vote of no-confidence in that Think Tanks forum for the 25th time and so it looks like I'm outta here and back to the ranch."

No, instead, this is "reasoning by debate." I have enjoyed that. The battle of ideas has brought a better picture of the current political picture for me.

Disagree with Stinker on one thing. This has been a good place for a political discussion.

But I would rather see a dozen or more folks making responses with good content rather than one person.

Reasoning by debate is what it says, I believe. You reason or think through issues by refuting or proving a point of view. It is not the only way to reason. The debate "winner" isn't always entirely true, either sometimes.

Heh, it's better than not performing "the feat of abstraction" and just staying pissed, eh?

PS: Actually, I see Stinker has spawned a bunch of political commentators. Look at all the political threads! And look at who! The "Stink Ripple Effect" :)

Last edited: Friday, March 04, 2005 at 6:36:11 AM