Michael W. Mahoney <103007.1253@compuserve.com> asks:
> He's just dull enough to convince himself that he's witty: "See
> all the replies I got!?!"

Thanks. Me, I don't much care for flames or insults...it's
something I try and avoid where I can. It's just not worth the hassle
or the bile or the angst. You've gotta *really* provoke me to push
that particular button. I've gotten decent at it out of survival, and
simply because I'm a writer; you've gotta be out of your *mind* to go
up against any fairly decent writer in a written medium. You won't
win.

But for folks like the one you describe, they're not out to
win, only to validate their existence by generating a response, proving
they exist by the echo produced by their voices. So in that, I agree
wholeheartedly with your analysis.

jms