> Why do people do this? If they're so upset about topic drift or thread > length, why do they insist on making it longer by being a loudmouth baby > about it? Seems counterproductive...
It is basic psychology, and if you look at it from the point of view of one person, you will see. Every person who is annoyed at people posting off-topic messages and wants to put a stop to it, thinks that if he writes a message asking people to stop, then they will stop. What he doesn't realize is that there will be someone who will argue against him, and there will eventually be a flame war. If he were to remain passive, then the message would have most likely be ignored, and there would be no more conversation on the matter. But at the time that it happened, remaining passive seemed impossible, because you were annoyed.
