[mburbank]

Here's my take.

While I often find discussion on this particular board illuminating and educating, and while it helps me define my own views, it's still I-mockery. If I wanted cut and dried debate with all the passion but minus the laughs, I'd go elsewhere.

Humor trumps all, and it should never be underestimated as a tool for enhancing communication.

When it's pure distraction, and you find it distracts you from actual discourse, simply ignore the given posts. Text is lot easier to ignore than actual audible speech, and completely ignoring seven or eight posts to return to the conversation is funny in and of itself.