Tom,
i think you understood what i meant when we had that conversation the other day, but i see that certain people here have been unable to resist the opportunity to twist the situation around to make it look like i had sinister motives, so i will just clarify what i meant.
when people on here (particularly those who live outside the UK) make fun of AV members, there are little to no consequences for their actions. whereas, for you to do the same, may have implications in your real life. at the very least, it could cause a tense atmosphere between you and another AV member at a future meet-up and, in the worst case scenario, it could lead to you being physically assaulted at a meet-up - or being banned from attending them, altogether.
the reason why i thought it might be helpful for me to point that out to you is because i have found myself in similar situations, in the past (i've observed and copied other people's behaviour because i thought it was acceptable, only to realise later that i had over-looked the fact that my circumstances are completely different to those who i was imitating. therefore, it had not occurred to me that it would be inappropriate for
me to behave in a certain way, and that doing so would put me in a difficult position). obviously, it's up to you whether you take my advice or not, but i thought it would be in YOUR best interests to take your personal circumstances in to consideration before making negative comments about certain people.
so, i was only expressing concern for your welfare - not mine, or anybody else's.
i will just add, though, that i do think it's highly unlikely that someone would take something so seriously that they'd attack you for it but, there again, sites like AV do tend to attract some unusual characters.
