unfair, pyraxis, as you know full well how private a person i am, and have always been on whichever board i've posted on, and i know you feel the same way - at least in part - yourself. "a convenient out" etc. is point scoring, and , i thought, beneath you.
It's both point scoring and valid. I really do think it hurts your argument to make vague grandiose claims about yourself ("I may well have saved your life at some point" etc.) and then clam up when asked to elaborate.
As for whether it's beneath me, I made my intentions clear (and at the moment it looks like the insurance mess isn't going to be as bad as I'd feared). I was practising both how to talk down an unreasonable person (Hadron) and challenge somebody I'd normally be wary of (you). I don't have enough practice in debate yet to know whether I'm more effective with attacks like going after your need for privacy, or with flies-and-honey like granting inconsequential points and then illustrating the clarity of my position anyway. Trial run.
