why do so many discussions turn contentious?

I'm agreeing with the post above mine, noting the futility to confront the problem, which is agreeing with it. Capisce?

Great point. Some are here to be the most popular, contentious, and provocative just because they can. How can one deal with that?

This is turning into quite the soap opera with some over the top ham vying for the spotlight. 

Spoken like a good bot. 👍

Wouldn't be funny if that were true? I'd get the biggest kick out of it if it were. It's like all companies have been hacked, regardless of what they say or will admit to, for fear of losing confidence in those who work with or for them. 

Come to think of it, that's what a good bot would do.

All the best,
Nonoise

90% of the issues in the US, boil down to VIDEO game and cell phone addiction. I swear the whole country would go into full blown withdrawal if the NET went down..

That reminds me of the best line from the movie, Gravity, where the character played by George Clooney remarks, after a lot of satellites are destroyed, "Half of North America just lost their Facebook." 

I wish it would happen.

All the best,
Nonoise

Well, builder3 is just showing his cards based on previous encounters that didn’t go his way, proving my point, and taking it personally.

jw944ts,
almarg was a sage compared to the rest of us here. Gentlemanly in all ways, always seeking to find a middle ground to resolve any contentiousness. He’d go out of his way to see both sides and even go so far as to try to talk sense and to reconsider their stance by logic and reason, which are long lost arts.
He was a devout and steeped audio enthusiast and very well educated (he was a patent attorney, among other things) and the most even keeled person I’ve met here. He never took offense.
Some of the people I alluded to took exception to him and treated him disrespectfully, which got a lot of our attention, and sadly, marked the path this site has taken.

All the best,
Nonoise

I meant to mention almarg, not almark.
Sorry about that Al. 👍

mike_in-nc,
Love that Samuel Johnson quote. 

All the best,
Nonoise

It's a sign of the times. Some here are intent to turn this audio site into an offshoot of farcebook or some other dark place where they most likely post all sorts of nonsense and enjoy "owning" others. Sick and simple as that.

Throw in massive doses of malignant narcissism and Bob's your uncle.
These are not sane people. One can mark the end of what used to be an audio only site with the passing of almark (god rest his beautiful soul). 

All the best,
Nonoise