I love you guys, but...

You Warriors know I love y'all very much, and just so you know, I haven't even touched the Scotch yet (to be honest, I don't even drink alcohol).

WF has always been a great community. As a newbie, you could be assured that if you had any question at all, even if you thought it was a dumb question, you could just ask and you would get about a million different answers that contradicted each other. But, you wouldn't be called stupid.

And yet, in recent times, I've seen some Warriors whom I respect and admire go to war with each other, and over some pretty stupid issues at that.

I can't guess why these otherwise intelligent and level-headed individuals would stoop to such low levels such as petty name-calling.

If you've been doing this (and you know who you are), please stop. You're better than this. WarriorForum is a place for IMers to come together and share ideas, not a place for cynics to belittle other members, no matter how justified they may be.

If you disagree with someone about something, fine. Say so and move on. But try to do so in a way that is non-argumentative. You're not going to get anyone to listen to you if all you say is "you're wrong" and resort to personal attacks.

If someone disagrees with you, let them. Don't shoot them down, listen to what they have to say. They might offer a view point you haven't considered before, and if you're lucky, you can learn something new from them. You can then update your opinion based on this new information, and thank the person for their contribution.

We call this open-minded learning.

If someone is intent on arguing with you for the sake of being right, or is just plain being mean, ignore them. Or find something to agree with them on, tell them you agree, and move on.

In other words, "let the Wookie win."

You'll be better off for it, and people will respect you more because of it. And I'm not saying you should just let people walk all over you. There are some battles worth fighting.

But a forum argument over petty issues isn't one of them.

I don't like having to say this, especially since most of the guilty parties are at least twice my age. But I feel this is something that needs to be said.

We are Warriors, and that means helping each other become more successful. That's kind of hard to do when we're waging war against one another.

I don't like to see bitter feelings caused over trivial issues, especially since those hard feelings can easily be avoided with just a little humility.

So, please. If you find yourself caught in a fire, either extinguish it or get away from it. But don't feed it.

I love you guys. You're the best.

Joshua