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Don:
You answered my question fine. I was just getting the feeling that things were getting a bit out of hand and it was appearing to become a more personal vendetta - on BOTH sides.

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As for your mention of the Gram/Lockwood confrontation and the need for someone to speak out...why? I'm not convinced that it is necessary as their actions speak for themselves and, since the vid clips of the assault were readily available on many sites (and quite entertaining, I must add, in a macabre way) going to someone's defense (or offense) after the fact probably won't make a bit of difference either way other than to provide it with additional publicity. Also, Lockwood is Lockwood; Gram is Gram. I don't know of anyone who is surprised at what took place. And thanks again for your answer to my question.
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I would use the famous quote about remaining silent in the face of danger ("First they came for...and I remained silent...") as it covers a lot of ground here. By assaulting Gram, Kurt took a major step towards "proving" he was a danger to others and not just a windbag who spouted off online about hurting people. By remaining silent, it gives him and those who hire/associate/hang out with him the green light to continue getting worse. Since the event, Kurt has calmed down; largely due to those around him providing him incentives to do so based on what they saw as a train wreck waiting to happen. Do you REALLY think he would have changed had no one said anything? Would you appreciate it if you were the next target, an emboldened Kurt putting a pistol in your face since the thrill of standing up to another critic needed to be furthered for the same adrenaline rush?

Conky has a point; this is a forum for discussing porn, those in it, those directing it, those commenting on it, and the fringes as well. To "get it", take a step back and consider how boring life would be if there were no critical commentary. I'm not sure what other forums you belong to but one of the best things about XPT is that it's a place where the darker sides of porn can be freely discussed without the sanitization squad banning you, locking your postings since they might hurt someone's feelings, or expecting members to be so self censoring that very little can be discussed at all (ie: boring). If anything, I'm on the tamer side of the spectrum compared to some of these guys but that doesn't mean they don't routinely make exceptionally valid points about the industry that wouldn't be considered acceptable at some of the major forums online.

I'm glad you're here though and wish others would join that have something to offer. I know you have more background in the industry that you can't openly share but the "they suck" attitude foisted on XPT'ers by a rival website has proven to be falser than their claims of harmony (they just cover things up better).