JAG, I am with Rihana. I don't know who said "spiritual", did anyone say? I said "spirited". No edit. You can check my post "criticism is spirited" as in "criticism is lively". I am the least spiritual person you will meet in your life. Who said spiritual, did anyone imply that anywhere? I am not aware.
Its a post seeking clarification of motive. Not assigning one My thoughts on the topic of negative criticism in a virtual world can vary greatly based on the intent.
JAG, you ask me 'why the desire to have negative Watson?' and the next line is "it is hard to buy that the criticism is for the spiritual/intellectual growth of others. That pretty much implies that I presented or supported that reason. And, the request to quote actual posts or their parts when asking queries or seeking clarification of motive, is sincere and serious. Thoughts on the topic of negative criticism are very welcome, but we all know this is a discussion that can go awry, so quoting actual parts of posts when seeking clarification is appreciated. JAG, please quote posts with member name in it. In your post above, the second quote is Ira's post which is orphan-quoted. Once again, to a casual reader it will seem like I said both the quoted parts.
That's a loaded clarification with insinuation of intent that no one implied. You could have inquired open-ended: what is the purpose, intent and value of such negative criticism. Rather than a loaded inquiry. Beware in online world, such loaded reconstruction in a clarification at times is taken at face value as explicit occurrence. Someone indeed said that.
...and yet the desire to have a -ve watson ? That was the only reason I could think of where I could somewhat justify the dangerous path..a truly altruistic goal. For the betterment of others at the cost of getting misunderstood . Somehow the cynic in me couldn't buy it. Hence the post seeking the intent before forming an opinion whether such a venture is indeed worth the risk.
I am not running away. I need a laptop though my mobile typing skills are exceptional these days. More on my return later.
So the "for the spiritual/intellectual growth of others" reason was something you thought of, yet you say "I find it hard to buy ...". We find it hard to buy only what we are presented with, not what we think up ourselves. You have (mis)represented one of your thought-up reasons as a reason presented by others. No fair.
So should be simple to say "NO JAG . U are completely off base. The reason I want is xyz" In general the one who s takes the first claim ( I am unhappy with ur rule of no negative watson ....) has the burden of explaining why . Once u do provide ur motive and reasoning I will have the burden of rejoinder. Was the opening post. The second line was meant to highlight that considerable time was spent in trying to understand the risks and the possible scenarios where such a venture might be worth it.