Board Thread:User Rights Requests/@comment-477304-20170417190140/@comment-1669199-20170418214527

I didn't want this thread to degenerate into the mess that it has ultimately turned into, and I most certainly don't want to see people get divided because of this thread, but despite that I still feel that what myself and others who share my sentiments have said here still needs to be properly addressed, otherwise, speaking for myself, I'll never be able to fully trust several people who've commented on this thread again, at least when it comes to being objective and fair in certain kinds of debates. I've been on this Wiki for 7 years, and I've seen a lot of people come and go, good and bad. For me, my time here has been a period of ups and downs, but mostly ups. But I'm not happy to see the concerns being expressed here twisted and mocked without due process, or being outright ignored just because those who dismiss these concerns simply don't want to bother addressing them. Call me a stubborn fool if you like, but I value honesty and objectivity in debates like these, and if I feel that anyone I'm speaking to is not expressing these principles to me as I would attempt to do for them, while assuming good faith towards me as I would for them even if we find ourselves fundamentally disagreeing with each others' positions, then I simply can't make peace with the idea of ever having any debates with them over similar issues in the future without feeling even a touch of ill-will towards them for what may have happened between me and them before. I'm not perfect, I never claimed to be, but the least that I expect from other people who I find myself debating with is to treat me and my stance on an issue the same way as I would treat them and theirs -- by assuming good faith and being as honest and objective as possible, while trying not to let your emotions get the best of you.

Maybe somewhere down the line I failed to keep my emotions from getting the best of me with certain people, I can admit at least that much. But whether I was justified to react as strongly as I have during certain instances is not the key issue here. My previous attitude with certain individuals doesn't negate what I have previously said in this thread, towards Journalistic himself or the supporters of his that I've called out, and as sick as I'm sure most of you probably are over this topic by this point I still feel even now that my arguments have yet to be debunked or disproved by anyone here who has spoken against them, directly or otherwise. If you are someone who disagrees with my stance on this issue, you are free to not engage with me in any way if you don't desire to -- I won't force you to. But just keep in mind that if you choose not to engage with me any further, you'll lose any chance of convincing me yourself to change my mind on anything in relation to this topic, because silence towards my arguments is not a counter-argument to anything I have said. It doesn't refute anything.

I'm willing to give discussing the matter in this thread another shot, even with those whom I found myself having the strongest quarrels with, although I'll try to make a stronger effort to not let myself get too emotional so, hopefully, things don't degenerate into another quarrel where nothing productive is being said or discussed. So, to those who wish to take me up on my offer, shall we begin again?