While I'll admit that there's frequently a lot of contentiousness on these threads, there are several Lost Causers for whom I have a great deal of respect. Someone a couple of years ago compared these threads to a graduate seminar on the war and they were right. We've gotten into all sorts of subjects, from who paid for dredging operations in Charleston harbor in the 1830s to the tonnage of shipping out of New Orleans and the mechanization of cotton harvesting.
But as far as "leading to understanding," well, at some point we're going to have to agree to disagree. I understand the southern position--state vs, federal, agrarian vs. industrial and so on--and I even have some sympathy for it in the abstract. But I'm never going to be a "South was right and Lincoln was worse than Stalin" people. And it's too much to expect us to settle an argument that's been raging pretty much since Appomattox. Not when arguing it is so entertaining.