Clarification and apology

[m cress]

To the moderators that locked the thread, JNP, Zooker, and anyone else that was offended by my post and had to bear witness to the argument that ensued...I apologize. Do I respect the quasi "seniority" that exists on message boards? Yes and no. I was a police officer for twelve years in our nations capitol, so yes I understand and give seniority it's due respect. Do I believe that A member of a message boards opinion is somehow not justified until they reach a certain number of posts? Of course not.
To those that responded and thought that I was somehow causing trouble.. I ask that you re-read the entire thread. You say that I should be more helpful, and not stir up trouble. If that is the case, then Zooker should not have responded to my post with "use it as a weight, don't waste your money" Zooker should have assumed by my number of posts that I was an inexperienced newbie and explained to me in detail the pitfalls of the particular reel. That would have been the correct response for following the standards that you have set for me. As far as the reel in question is concerned, there seems to be an assumption that I was asking for advice on which reel to purchase or I was in the market for a reel. This is not the case and can be easily understood by reading the thread. To those that use phrases such as "you haven't been attacked yet" "you'll know when you are under attack". I think that you need to realize that this is a website. Everyone types away under the comfort of anonymity, and I think end up truly believing that they somehow wield some sort of power over others and can actually hurt them from within a high speed internet signal. This is a website and should not be used as a boys treehouse club. Remember this is a PUBLIC site. If I had gone through an interview and application process to become a member here, my behaviour would certainly be different. JNP and Zooker do not own this site regardless of their super veteran status. For those that are scared of being flamed from a couple of guys behind a keyboard I suggest you rethink your self esteem.
I will take your advice BASSBOSS and go back to lurking this site and hope that the veteran members do indeed offer some useful tips and advice and I will take them with gratitude.
Mike