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I went looking for the exchange you've made reference to - is it the one in this thread?

I have to say, I was searching for something that I would have found offensive (if I were you), and I just couldn't find anything that egregious. So, using that exchange as an example, my answer to your sincere question is that I personally wouldn't have considered that an attack, and therefore I wouldn't have considered it anything to "police". It wasn't personal (that I could see - did I miss something?), and I guess I consider pretty much all questions related to politics fair game around here.

You seem to be very articulate and confident in your positions. It surprises me that you felt like you were under attack there. Is there a different example you could direct me to?

Yes, that was it, thanks for looking into it. I think I said somewhere above it's easy to get oversensitized when you are debating issue like these. That includes me. The only thing I was offended by is his comment that my tagline was pro-Kerry. I guess expected him to recognize the satire.

I got concerned when that same poster attacked burkeman1 more recently calling him a DU troll. My gut reaction was that he was looking for an easy target (burkeman1 qualifies) and picking fights for whatever reason. There's a fine balance between keeping people like the subject of this thread on the forum while still allowing newcomers who want to really challenge the views of posters like Burkeman. My overriding concern is that forum could in theory be converted into an echo chamber by a determined group of outsiders pretending to be extremely strong Bush supporters who challenge each and every post that posters like Burkeman1 make.

Or am I just being paranoid? Is it worth having dissenters like burkeman1 around who aren't always easy to debate with (to put it politely)? Personally I think that is the biggest strength of the forum.