> My experience on Usenet has been that, by and large, it is > the cranks and trolls who resort to shouting, name-calling, > and other rude behavior. Between george and Norm, who is > displaying more crankish traits?
I'm hardly in a position to play Miss Manners, but I think one could reasonably complain in both cases. One thing I am very tired of reading on this list are the constant attempts to denigrate the mathematical work of one distinguished mathematician or another, or one school of mathematicians or another. I think ripping in to the positions people take on the philosophy of mathematics is one thing, but treating the mathematical work of the people involved is quite something else.