[Howard Klepper]

Originally Posted by justonwo

Howard, I understand what you mean about having a disagreement without taking things personally. However, I think when you start using words like "smug" and "vain" (as in vanity), you begin to venture out of the arena of pure intellectual criticism and into the arena of value judgement, so it is no surprise to me that you are getting emails through the back-channel. On the one hand, you have stated that you aren't abandoning the pursuit of high regulation on your guitars, and yet on the other hand you are criticizing your customers for valuing (or perhaps over-valuing) those things. Perhaps you are frustrated by the market's demand that you maintain a high degree of precision and perfection (colloquial usage) on your guitars?

Juston, I used "vain" in In the sense of 'futile' as an illustration of the wabi-sabi approach; not to characterize any individuals on the forum. As for "smug," I went too far. I apologize for it and have removed that sentence. Only one person has contacted me backchannel, BTW. I think he understands my purpose better now.