[MD] Missing the Point

[Arlo Bensinger]

[gav]
for those that don't see a point then feel free to continue verbally 
masturbating. i would just prefer you did it somewhere else to be honest.

[Arlo]
Just two quick thoughts, Gav. I think phatic communication is an important 
aspect in the maintenance of community. I'd content that in addition to our 
"intellectual level" discussions, the MOQ is also a social space for many 
of us. A social space that revolves around the MOQ to be sure, but 
social-phatic talk reminds us that "its only ever one person talking from 
one point in time" (or something like that). I'd also venture that for many 
of us, the dialogue you hear is not simply "inter-personal" but 
"intra-personal", that is we are talking ourselves through our thoughts as 
much as we are talking to others. Maybe it drifts too far at times, but I 
don't know if I'd knock it all as verbal masturbation.