I waited a bit before chiming in on this subject and the responses from Brian, Paul, Wayne and others to this turn of events mirror my feelings. I too welcomed Ken's return and appreciate his depth of knowledge. I hope that he reconsiders and that we can continue to benefit from his contributions.
THE PROBLEM
There has indeed been a large amount of testiness creeping in of late. While I haven't done a trend analysis to figure out why the CR list (and a few other lists) experiences bouts of this behavior, I wouldn't be the least surprised that it peaks in the winter months when us northerly members are spending less time riding (and thus purging some of our accumulated aggression and dissatisfaction) or, perhaps, are suffering from cabin fever or mild seasonal affective disorder.
THE SOLUTION
Whatever the cause, I would like to see a decline in animosity and the recognition that opinions will differ among us on many topics. This needs to be self-enforced! Dale has shown much patience and forbearance in moderating the list but we must not expect him to have to step in routinely to quell discourses that are getting out of control. On the whole, the CR members are a very articulate group. Consequently, it should not require a large amount of effort to carefully consider the phrasing of postings to the list and their potential interpretation by others prior to sending.
Thanks, Charlie
Charlie Young
Honeybrook, PA