Fork Gaiters - buyer beware

[ClassicVW_imp]

Okay, I'll start from the premise that you didn't mean to insult anyone, because I'm sure that's true. But let me explain where I'm coming from.

First of all, if you make a sarcastic comment, there's always a subtext. That's the whole point of a sarcastic comment--you're saying one thing, but you really mean something else. And because this is all happening online, without the benefit of real-life cues to let others know that (for example) you're just trying to inject a little humor into the situation, it's really easy for others to misunderstand or take offense. Clearly that's what happened in this case (look at the OP's response).

As far as "putting words in [your] mouth"...pointing out why/how a sarcastic comment might be taken poorly is not, in my opinion, the same as misquoting you. And actually, the sentence I think you're referring to was meant to illustrate how a person might "interpret" both your comment and the one ss2wheels had made earlier.

To illustrate my point, here's a purely hypothetical situation (all these words are mine). Imagine that you post something like the following: "Just FYI, I skipped my 8,000 mile valve inspection (I was in the middle of a long road trip, and it wasn't really practical to get to a shop). By the time I got home, I was at 12,000 miles, so I figured I might as well just wait to have the valves checked at 16,000--and it turned out that four were tight and two were loose. So you guys might not want to repeat my mistake!"

Then some other guy posts this in reply: "Me and Joe and Fred warned everybody about this last spring! You always have to read and follow the manual!"

And then jimbo says (in large font): "Wait a sec! You choose to ignore factory recommended maintenance, and we're surprised when things turn to sh**?"

If you were the OP, there, how would you feel about those replies--if you didn't know the people who made them? And in the future, would you be more or less likely to post potentially helpful information that you'd learned from making a mistake?

That's the only point I'm trying to make. I'm not trying to "go to war" with you.

I told you that insulting you was not my intent. I apologized. I did not need the lecture, but thank you anyway. I thought we had moved on. I think you're beating this to death and beyond. Let it go. If you don't, then you're saying you don't believe me, which "I" then resent.

If anyone thinks I'm being too sensitive or even insensitive, then place me on your ignore list. I won't argue this any longer.