Here's the crux of where my problem lies, L, being completely frank with you. Reading the link to PAD's blog, I hear a lot of the same old same old from people that cop to never having spent a minute on this forum.  They start name calling without provocation.  They toss out lies like dollar bills at a strip joint.  In that thread, they drag out the old canard that we ban people willy nilly here for nothing more than not agreeing with John Byrne on any given subject.  We're called "Byrnebots" by the host of that blog and then dog piled on by quite a few people who admit that they've only read a few threads here or, worse, have just heard from other people that we're the dogs**t end of the internet.  In that thread they've called John names too numerous to mention and repeat tired half-truths and outright falsehoods as fact.  Note, I'm not talking about the subject at hand and what happened 20-odd years ago, I'm talking about ad hominem attacks that have absolutely nothing to do with said subject.  Is it really all that hard to believe, can you accept for a moment, that someone who posts prominently over there might be taken as someone who is looking to provoke on this board, even if that is not your intent?  Is it really all that confusing and baffling?  I don't think so.

Listen, I get really tired of people dogging this site and it's members as a hive mind, as sycophants, as Byrnebots, as if we can't make a move or say a thing unless John Byrne tells us it's all right.  I'm not saying you're of this mind, L, but it's a pervasive belief.  Spend more than ten minutes on this board, get to know its members, contribute to other threads, or hell, just read them and you'll find that's far from the truth.  But a lot of people on the net can't be bothered with the truth because the fiction is much more exciting to tell.  I've disagreed with John on many things over the years.  Not only haven't I not been banned, I'm a moderator.  People disagree with John all the time where his work is concerned.  Yes, there are members here who don't fall over themselves with everything John produces.  John doesn't expect them to. I really rather doubt that John loves absolutely everything by his favorite creators, so why should he expect that from his fans?  And that's the point so many miss: this is a fan site, plain and simple.  It always, ALWAYS, makes me laugh in a sad way when people talk about how we post when John shows us a commission, for example.  They point and laugh, saying how silly we are to say we like what he does.  "How can they do that?  See, they are Byrnebots!  They are sycophants!!!"  What part of "fan site" don't they get?  If I'm not a fan of someone, I don't go to their website.  If I am, I do.  That I post here exclusively should tell you what side of the fence I'm on where JB is concerned.  I just find it absurd to the extreme that someone would honestly call into question people who admire certain people coming together to collectively interact with that person.  For example, I'm not a huge fan of KISS, so I don't post on Gene Simmons' website and I certainly don't mock people who do.  But that's exactly the kind of reaction this board gets on a daily basis.  I'm not kidding. I get really f**king tired of it, but what do you do.  I try not to waste my time or energy on that anymore.

To sum it all up, have some people been jumping down your throat and treating you in a less than kind manner?  Sure.  Some, not all.  Do those people have justification?  Sure, to some extent.  Spend enough around the net as a fan of John Byrne, and you'll see how nice you're treated. So it's no surprise that the knee-jerk reaction to a first time poster who "enters the lion's den", as it was put on PAD's blog, is treated with skepticism.  Posting 40 times in less than two days on a single subject will only heighten that skepticism because it looks like the only reason you're here is to debate John on a specific subject where you've already made your opinion clear on another site.  In other words, it doesn't look like you want to actively contribute to this board and the community.  That, to me, warrants skepticism and "seeing daggers" where you participation on this board is concerned.