On 03-05-13, DAMON A. GETSMAN said to TIM RICHARDSON:   
      
   DA>Re: RE-Listing The Echo   
   DA>By: TIM RICHARDSON to ALL on Thu Feb 28 2013 07:54:00   
      
   > Rule number one: No threats of physical violence allowed.   
      
      
   DA>This one always makes me wonder.  If you have two hotheaded people that   
   DA>are in the echo at each others' throats, what if one requests a duel?   
      
      
   In fact....there are those for whom the luckiest thing in the early history of   
   our nation was the out-lawing of dueling to settle matters of personal honor.   
      
      
   Take the likes of Klahn, for instance.   
      
      
   Were the art of personal dueling to the death, with a beautiful set of old   
   fashioned matching dueling pistols still legal...someone would have slapped   
   him with their glove many years ago, and shot him dead at ten paces.   
      
      
   That, by the way, is NOT a personal threat of physical violence...merely a   
   statement of fact, that would be clearly understood as such, by anoyone who   
   had a long enough acquaintance with Klahn here in Fido.   
      
      
   DA>Would that be a threat of physical violence?   
      
      
   Not at all. Although, since personal dueling to the death was outlawed shortly   
   after Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton to death, would no doubt be quite   
   illegal, by my new rules for this echo...offering to give an asshole who   
   doesn't know how to talk to people like a gentleman (like Klahn, for instance)   
   the opportunity to back up their snide little insults or outright lies about   
   the character of another poster, with the courage of facing someone on a field   
   of honor, would not be considered by me as an actual `physical threat'. Only   
   an offer to a `jerk' the opportunity of backing their words with honorable   
   combat.   
      
      
   If such offer was made...and accepted by the person challenged...rectifying   
   the end result with the legal system would, of course, be the responsibility   
   of the winner of the encounter.   
      
      
   But nothing in such a situation that got started in this echo would be a   
   violation of my echo rules.   
      
      
   DA>Surely it would be more of a   
   DA>gentleman's request to debate in the most final arena possible.   
      
      
   Exactly my point. Someone who offers insult to another should be prepared to   
   defend their position, even with deadly force if no apology from the offender   
   is forthcoming, and thats what the injured party challenges the offender with.   
   A simple challenge offered in a gentlemanly manner, is hardly a `threat of   
   physical violence'...merely an offer to the offender to back his insults or   
   false accusations in a duel.   
      
      
   Of course...we both know such is illegal, and the `winner' of such an act   
   would spend a lot of years in prison afterward.   
      
      
   DA>I would   
   DA>hope that people could see it as such and know the difference between such   
   DA>an offer and a bonafide threat of physical harm, even if the recipient of   
   DA>the request turns down such an offer.   
      
      
   Precisely.   
      
      
   DA>Also, on a completely unrelated tangent, I'm afraid that I must respond to   
   DA>this widespread pigeonholing of Klahn with   
   DA>KLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!