I think, actually, that part of the reaction has to do not with Dustin's age but with Dustin himself. The guy's got an irritating ego that's built up a mild dis

I think, actually, that part of the reaction has to do not with Dustin's age but with Dustin himself. The guy's got an irritating ego that's built up a mild dislike in me. He does good work but not great work, and gets disproportionate praise for what he does. This whole series struck me as smug, but not wrong enough that I felt good criticizing him for it. I know I'm not the only person who felt that way. On a low and ugly level, this thread validates those feelings. So I feel better about my wariness and feel more able to talk about it. Is that what the thread should be? Probably not. But that's what's happening and I also don't necesarily think that's a bad thing. Dustin's been asking to be smacked down for half a year, now, and it would have been in poor taste to smack him down in a thread that wasn't specifically critical of him. So arguably it's a little bit better that it's happening here in a more cathartic way, rather than coming in a thread that doesn't warrant such a response. Not the most mature approach, but we're not the most mature community. Nothing wrong with that. You can be smart and educated and still feel the occasional need to be catty. As long as it's not too frequent, I view it as a healthy release.