I’ve never understood these OPUS things. It’s just a web site. A forum where news and viewpoints are shared. Do these dramatic goodbyes mean the person no longer believes in the substance of current events or the value of opinion? Or did they think they were going to change the world on their terms and their schedule? And, eventually, they tire of the effort? Did they think everyone was going to come to see things in the same way as themselves? Whatever happened to balance and perspective? I don’t get it. It’s just a web site.
I'm with you. Why the drama thing? For attention? For all to beg the person not to leave? If one wants to quit posting, then just quit posting.
I believe the answer to that question is yes and no.
"Did they think everyone was going to come to see things in the same way as themselves?"
Allow me to answer this...
For me this is really the first time participating on a forum such as this. What amazed me the most though was the issue of debate. In all honesty, I never came here to debate, but rather to inform.
FR is a wonderful place - there are people here who are experts on a variety of subjects and there can be a lot to learn - There is also a propensity here for almost everyone to argue and debate, often about subjects that many times the individual knows nothing about other than what they might have read on the internet. This in itself can be frustrating for many.
Reading what Jack Black wrote - I sense that Jack felt a similar frustration and decided that instead of simply rehashing the same issues over and over he would just leave.
Usually they leave because of the lack of admissions requirements.
You aristocrats never get it. And this peasant envies you!
I disagree. It isn’t just a website. It’s a community. While being a conservative forum, there are innumerable subgroups of every conceivable interest. People group in real life to protest, or to counter protest, or to show up live to important events in order to report.
In many ways, you are witnessing the reincarnation of network news, only this time the news is being brought to you by all kinds of people all over the world.
I’ve seen these Opii, and I think they serve their purpose. They are cathartic, they are healthy, and they are a public declaration by some of the most passionate, intelligent people in the conservative movement, that perhaps all of the work isn’t worth it with the current crop of idiots that have R’s behind their names.
On the other hand, the world is a complex place, and we only know a fraction of what our elected leaders do, and so a certain benefit of the doubt is in order.
I’ve digressed, but the point remains that FR is more than just a website, and that the Opus is more than just goodbye.