What are you Smoking? - April 2023

Do you feel better after all the political and social comments you make? Life is rough without a sense of common courtesy.

This forum has a no-politics rule. I'd just like everyone to have the common courtesy to adhere to it. It's not difficult. Lots of folks here manage to post every single day without getting into political/social commentary or dropping words and phrases everyone knows are cultural hot-buttons.

And then there's some who can rarely manage it. I don't know why. Truly, I don't. That's partly why it bothers me: I can't figure out what the difficulty is. And when you're trying to avoid getting peppered with politics and culture wars 24/7, and you're in a forum where that stuff is against the rules, yes, it gets bothersome that there's still a daily stream of small and large references to it, reminders about it, and just plain participation in it.

For people who sometimes express concern about the forum membership count and about the dwindling number of pipe smokers in general, it shows an odd lack of self-awareness. After all, the whole point of the no-politics rule is to make sure this place is inviting to pipe smokers of all stripes. If anyone thinks this place isn't inhospitable to all pipe smokers except those within a fairly narrow spectrum of political/social values and viewpoints, they're mistaken.

I rarely say anything about it because on the whole I find you all to be a pretty companionable lot, and, to be honest, because I really don't think there's much point to saying anything. This place is what it is at this point. It has some core members -- and you're one of them, Ron -- who, if very many of them left because they couldn't go on doing what they've gotten used to doing, the Patch probably wouldn't survive. That's just the reality of it. On rare occasions, though, like this one, it flusters me so much I harrumph about it.

This is far and away the most I've ever said on the subject, and the most I'll ever say.

2020 Yoshimi's Out Shine at work.