Ya, exactly. Not sure what was trollish about my original post but whatever - the mods around here have really gone downhill lately.

But there is a way to downvote. See the comment above the GP, what is happening is that all the negative, trolling comments are getting upvoted when you'd think they'd be downvoted.

This is no different than a local (physical) bulletin board.

There IS a difference. When you post on a local bulletin board you walk up to it in person and stick the paper on the board. There is risk to your anonymity and there is also more effort required. A barrier to entry, but one not so high that good-intentioned folks will be stopped by it -- just enough to keep the lazy trolls off the bridge.

And am *I* the one who gets to decide what is and isn't? Or you?

Yes. That's how democracy works (or is supposed to). No individuals decide, instead we all do as a society. Yes, that means the decisions won't all go your way.

Perhaps that is true in an ideal world, but in the real world, the police make snap judgements on credibility of threats and often times deprioritize this kind of situation because more often than not it is just a troll. Sure, it's wrong, but again this is how the world really works -- so when you receive a threat you have to protect yourself first, then ask others to help protect you. In the GP's example, this means sacrificing some of your education in order to protect your own life.

Do you trust the police to protect you if you are threatened like this? Remember, I asked about trust, not expectations.

Saying the wrong thing that offends someone on a college campus these days will get you kicked out faster than banging Dean Wormer's wife.

What's wrong with that? Freedom of expression doesn't have anything to do with freedom from the consequences of being a jackass.

Yup, probably -- which is exactly what happened when Sarah Palin did the same thing. If you ask me, Palin should have been strung up for it then, and Clinton should be now. Of course now you get into the realm of it having been OK for Palin, so why is it a problem for Clinton? Gotta love politics.

Everyone's a baby when it comes to changes. Get over it and move on.

We *should* fix the cause of the problem rather than going after the symptoms, but unfortunately there's too much (political) debate about whether either the cause or the symptoms even exist to be able to do anything about it. Sad but true.

I had to try it to remember, too! It's muscle memory now, not something I think about when I do it.

How many O's are in WHOOOSH

BTW when your buddy flies with you, they can split the cost with you -- as long as they are flying with you and they are not commissioning the flight itself.

It's not about the $50, it's about the fact that you're working "for hire" as as such are required to have a specific level of training and upkeep. Similar to going to your friends house for dinner vs. your friend opening a restaurant from their home. The latter requires periodic health inspections, for example.

Statistically speaking, how likely is it that I will be enlightened?

His shotgun also spreads pellets throughout the sky with no idea where they might land -- might be OK if he lives in a rural area, but it's going to cause more problems than it solves in any populated area.