Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with the thread. Sure, merlyn could have responded differently. So could have Juerd or crazyinsomniac. But, everyone did as they are expected to do in life: they were themselves.

Once you strip the noise from the thread, there is actually the beginnings of a good discussion on effeciency. Both Juerd and belg4mit had some good comments. And all of this was started by merlyn's comment. If you check the thread closely, had it not been for merlyn's comment, the effeciency discussion probably would not have happened.

All in all, I think crazyinsomniac's response sums it up best. Yes, PM is a place to learn. But, we all have different styles of teaching, different styles of learning, different styles of coding, and different styles of expressing ourselves. It's the merging and colliding of these differences that makes this the Monastery. Not to wax philosophical, but it takes an abrasive to polish a diamond.

Can merlyn be a jerk? Hell yes. But so can you, and so can I. Again, referring to crazyinsomniac's response: Grow som' brains and grow som' brass. Once you cut through the noise, there's an amazing amount of knowledge to be had.

If things get any worse, I'll have to ask you to stop helping me.