This is in defense of people who make posts and get trashed for it.
 
The latest thread involves the following:
 
Bryan C. Priem wrote:
>I think there should be a limit to how many items can be thrown on the ice
>during the game before a penalty is incurred, but to ban such a specific
>item?  Seems a bit biased.  Let us know when gophers become an endangered
>species.  Maybe then those who throw them out on the ice will think twice.
>Is there something wrong with having a little school spirit?
 
OK everybody, this started with a recap of the UND/UMn game where the fans
threw dead gophers on the ice.  Lots of posts saying that was very un-cool
followed.  Carol Sweeny (I think) posted that throwing dead gophers ought
to cost the home team a penalty.  Mr Priem started the nit-picking by ask-
ing why something as specific as a gopher (implying that someone thought
gophers were sacrosanct or something).
 
Another poster mentioned a penalty on the home team for each and every
object thrown on the ice.  Mr Priem seems (to me) to be responding to that
statement by saying that 1 object = 1 penalty is outrageous.  Now other
nit-pickers are attacking that qualitative assertion.
 
Geez, folks, read for what the poster means, don't analyze the exact words.
I doubt many of us could stand up to such scrutiny.  Most posts are made
in response to another thought, just like answers in a conversation.  Some
people may need to read over what they write once before hitting the send
button, but a private note to do so would be better than flooding the
system with 5 (and counting) nit-picks that refs can't count objects, dont
want to count objects, shouldn't have to count objects.
 
Another post from an (alleged) eye-witness to an (alleged) Minnesota fan
allegedly throwing a cup of pop on the ice should be enough to show that
the idea of object=penalty isn't worth discussing, and that the original
post was a conversational reply to someone else, not a long-thought-out
thesis on how to control unruly fans.
 
This isn't the first thread to suffer such "I caught a poorly phrased idea,
now I gotta post" mentality.  Near and dear to my heart is the Mankato St
debacle I started.  Mike Machnik and others know how that "hockey-L seeks
head of current MSU coach" thread started, and it was because people either
answer out of context, or just want to pick nits.
 
Go easy!  If it's stupid, send private E-Mail, don't try to prove to 800(?)
hockey-l'ers that your the next Johnny Cochran.
 
Steve G
 
PS
Remember, flame me privately!  I'll still get the same amount of mail, but
the innocent lurkers won't get overloaded.
 
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