... Mike. It warrants a comparable response, which I hope I can provide.

>> As a relative "newbie" to the hobby, I have found TCB to be a treasure trove
>> of information and a constant source of enjoyment from hearing of other
>> collectors new finds and hopefully I will get to post a new find myself one day.

We all share the enjoyment of discussing here chips and (especially) new finds -- and Greg's contribution to the hobby in providing this forum as a means of sharing such information is incalculable.

I share your hope that you wll someday be able to post a great new find.

>> While I may be in the minority (at least in speaking out), I mostly agree with the posts
>> that Pete and Chuck made about getting back to chip related talks and the hobby ...

I wouldn't presume to speak for Greg as to why he has chosen to make this site for the "public, no-holds-barred, uncensored airing of many controversial issues in and outside the boundaries of the chip hobby". But, I'm glad he did.

It is not unlike, IMO, any other gathering of people in a communal setting. When your family gets together on holidays, birthdays or other occasions, do you speak only of family matters? Or do you sometimes have even heated discussions about other issues (e.g., politics). At company parties, do you talk only company business? Or other things as well? Even at church functions, the conversation isn't only about religion.

In fact, I worked on Wes Clark's presidential campaign until he dropped out of the race. When we had our meetings, did we discuss only politics? No! We often discussed other things, just as people do whenever they get together for any reason.

IMO, it's all part of the process of making friends, rather than simply hobby-related acquaintances.

>> I also fail to see how the name calling, infighting amongst posters, and the
>> completely irrevelant postings of NCR items can possibly further our hobby.

Sometimes they don't. Just as controversies in the world outside chipping don't always further society in general. On the other hand, sometimes just reading those posts provides valuable insight into who we might or might not want to do business with, trade with or buy a beer for!

If we all just made nice-nice here, we might never know what a jerk/crook/cheat (or even "moron" ) _____________________ is (fill in the blank with the name of any such person you have discovered here ).

And, sometimes, the "irrelevant" posts are just to share a funny or sad or poignant or informative moment with the group. I enjoy Travis Lewin's pictures of his "grandbabies" every bit as much as I do any he might post of his chips. Phyllis's daily "humor" post is always a treat. Ralph Myers' car photos are awesome. I got a big kick out of Bill Thompson's post about Jim Munding's train photos. The occasional reports by Paul Sax about his poker adventures with Bill O'Day are fun to read. The NCR contests which pop up with some frequency are fun for those who play and even many who don't. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it all goes together in making us a community of friends, not just a group of chip collectors.

>> However, due to the way Greg has set up this board, I do respect and do not want to
>> curtail other's rights to post basically whatever they desire, be it thought provoking ...

We get some of that.

>> ... silly ...

And a little of that.

>> ... NCR ...

Many varieties of that.

>> ... or the airing of "dirty laundry".

And a fair share of that.

>> Just like probably everyone, I read the first message in a thread
>> and decide to either read or skip the rest.

Perfect solution.

>> I just do not want to wade thru 15-20 posts of point-counter point
>> in order to get to the next message.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. If you have your preferences set up for threads, it isn't necessary to go through responses to get to the next main message. You can simply scroll down quickly to the next one -- it isn't necessary to read the responses. The compressed list style gives the subject line and author for only the main message in each thread -- you don't even see the subject lines of the responsive messages unless you choose to open the main message.

>> Anyway that's my 2 cents.

Worth well in excess of that, Mike. And a good example of how an NCR post led to insight about someone I am now looking forward to meeting at next year's convention.

Thanks for providing it.

----- jim o\-S