I'm sure Seamus could have sugared up his posts a little to make it easier for you to swallow; but (IMO) they were dead on, as posted...so no alteration was needed. In fact, I think that blunt was the way to go in that instance.
I am currently full of fajitas and feeling very kind and gentle to everything that is not edible and wrapped in a tortilla.
Blunt apparently didn't work because he's still arguing about it- so either his understanding, my explanation or some combination of the two was defective.
Fauna has it's tone set to some degree, by the contents and interactions on the BOI. Efforts have been made to distinguish and encourage the other discussion forums but as long as the BOI is present on the same site, it will color the interactions site-wide to some degree. People aren't going to be friendly with those they know to be thieves and liars and heated disagreements can leave individuals with no respect for one another. They can still behave politely, as they are expected to, but they can't be forced to like one another.
The BOI deals with some fairly serious stuff. Money and animals and people's ethics and businesses and reputations- how someone behaves in public, even in a virtual public, can be a strong indicator of who they are as a person. People pay attention to these things and give them some heavy consideration. They
remember because it's in that memory of the past that future mistakes can be avoided; if someone has stolen in the past, there's a high probability that they'll steal in the future. If they behaved poorly, the same can be said.
I'm telling you from firsthand experience, if you go and say something asinine, it'll be remembered and people's opinions will be influenced by it (Once again, Dr. Owens, that thread was way out of line and it was amazing how I got my foot in my mouth while my head was up my ass). It can take some time before they'll interact with you as if it never happened, if ever. Apologizing is great... when it's sincere. Unfortunately, history has shown time and time again that it's often insincere and something to be wary of. You need to accumulate sufficient evidence to prove that your attitude has changed before people will respond to you differently.
All that said, I'm not familiar with your indiscretions. I'm not familiar with people's responses to them. I certainly haven't seen anyone go out of their way to attack you- they may not be as friendly as you want but there's a huge difference between animosity and a guarded neutrality.
I'm going to get a language infraction for what I am about to post but it lacks some of the poignancy of the original form when a euphemism is used.
Don't shit where you eat.
It's a motto to live by... In essence, be aware of where you are and what that place means to you when you decide to do something foul. Then weigh very carefully the consequences before (metaphorically) dropping your pants.
