That is good advice. Sometimes, I see threads and think “Nah. I won’t even go it, because nothing good ever happens in there.”
You have to pace yourself and pick your spots, no doubt. In all my time here, I have had two major run-ins, and I did not enjoy them at all.
(I don’t call my last exchange with Willie Green a major run-in, because it wasn’t for me, but I think he had a lot of people taking a run at him at that time.)
That's the wrong attitude there. A defeatist attitude. Try this simple mental exercise. Close your eyes and imagine you're a shark and that thread is blood in the water. You have to attack relentlessly and ruthlessly. It's all fun and games until the mods get involved and then it's time to sit in the corner and write over and over "I will not get involved in these stupid foolish threads because they waste my time and are bad for my blood pressure". Then . . and then, I'll have to come up with some more good advice for you. I'm like the CDC and Dr. Falsey, I change my mind often and switch sides.