<<It was certainly and unquestioningly uncalled-for. IMHO, no doubt about that. But, things around here can and do get a little dehumanizing occasionally anyway, so it was more negative than most but not by much.>>
IMHO, it was a LOT more vile than most of the personal insults that occur here. It was purely ad hominem or ad feminem, a purely personal attack and just as foul and vile as it can get.
<<Plus, Rich does provide a valuable service here at the Forum. I would like that voice to be heard.>>
Yes, he does, and I'll miss his voice if he goes. But there's no contribution so valuable that it trumps the basic human decency that we as members owe to one another. Insults DO get batted around here, but I really can't recall any one of them as vile and disgusting as Rich's attack on terra.
<<I find the intense condescending attitude of JS to be EXTREMELY grating, but I wouldn't advocate him being cast out where gnashing of teeth occurs either.>>
Ludicrous to compare your feeling of what is basically annoyance or irritation with the hurtfulness of the insult levelled at terra.