I'd like to chime in on this thread. I'm half Asian, so it hurts on a personal level when I see some of the Asian bashing that occasionally goes on in the tools forum. Sometimes it's about jobs, sometimes it's about political ideologies, sometimes it's about quality and sometimes it's about stereotypes. It's disheartening when I see the latter type of comments and I'm glad there's a "REPORT" button so I can bring them to the attention of the mods.
In that sense, I'd really like to thank the moderators of this website for the outstanding work they do to keep the peace. Over the years, I've run a few websites and I know how difficult it can be to keep a balance between maintaining open discussion and drawing a line when something is clearly inappropriate and/or off-topic. The moderators here at the Garage Journal could teach classes on how to run a website that draws people in and makes them feel inclusive.
I've seen far too many websites where a few individuals will troll the boards and make new users run for the hills. I don't care how much knowledge a forum member has; if they're promoting hurtful stereotypes, then they're creating a stagnant board where other users will feel abused and unwelcome. In the end, people like that always take more than they give.
I know that in this day and age, so many people are tired of "political correctness" and feeling like they can't "say it like it is." But think of where we were a few generations ago, and it's easy to understand why being inclusive and constructive is much better than the alternative.
I know what a tough and thankless job being a moderator can be. I was one of the first moderators on MSN's discussion forums when they were in beta and after they went live, and there wasn't much in the way of web etiquette. I received a LOT of hate mail back then since I was under instruction to be a human web filter. All that for a free dial-up account on a 28.8 kbps modem. After Microsoft got out of the dial-up ISP business, the moderators went bye-bye and the forums ended up looking like your typical Craigslist discussion forum today, where you ask a question and get innundated with hate speech.
I'm grateful that places like the Garage Journal still exist and continue to hold the torch of the internet that once was: before spam, viruses, and when the web browser Mosaic was king. The Garage Journal is a benchmark for what a forum-based website should be. So with all sincerity, thanks again to the moderators for keeping the Garage Journal on-point and positive.
I was just in the mood to pick a fight with someone. Now you guys ruint it for me.