EDIT: let's see if hubski falls for my repetition-as-a-rhetorical-device.

What is that if not a swipe? And what did I do to deserve that swipe? More than that, it's a swipe that you used as an excuse to dodge my argument - it was the act of taking a debate from one of substance to one of slander.

I don't "jump to find insults in things" I recognize them. That's because I've been sparring on the Internet since 1992 and I've long since learned that if you don't catch it early, it becomes a flame war. You may not have intended to insult me with your statement, but the end result was the same - you chose to ignore the argument itself and instead cast aspersions on my rhetorical style. Ask yourself this:

1) What would you have had me do?

2) What would that action have done to the tenor of the discussion?

3) Where would it have left my position?

4) Where woudl it have left yours?

Let's say I let your swipe slide. Four things happen:

1) it becomes okay to win arguments by insulting each other.

2) You think you've made a point because I'm letting you slide, when in fact I'm just pampering your feelings.

3) The argument ceases to be about merits and becomes about who is willing to let the other person win.

4) Our further interactions now have some bullshit power dynamic behind them, rather than being based wholly on merit. You think I'll accept bullying instead of rhetoric and I know that in order to be civil, you have to be patronized.

Instead, we're talking about it like adults.

An insult is an insult is an insult. Especially when my insult was followed with "But I know you wouldn't do that without a point."

Pay close attention next time you see it. I think you'll find that things usually start with me pointing out that I've been insulted and then quickly adapting to the new battlefield. This is no good for anyone because, as stated, I've been brawling on the Internet since 1992. I'm a junk yard dog. I've learned to call for civility at the first punch because nobody wins a bare-knuckle brawl. Sure - some people fight prettier than others but there isn't a lot of point to it, particularly when the object is discussion, not scorched earth.

I don't "jump to find insults in things." I "jump" to make sure they stop. You may very well have been kidding, but in your attempt at humor, you did ignore my argument and require me to (patiently) repeat it three different ways. Does that really benefit either of us?