Tol-in-Gaurhoth XVIII: The Play’s The Thing…

[Aiwendil]

Farael - No, I don't take your attack personally. I am rather bewildered by it. You take much of what I say quite out of context, and you attribute opinions to me that I have not expressed. For instance, you take one of my statements out of context and thereby conclude that I want "to disregard the accusations and reasoning". When, upon reading my comment in full, you find that this is not so, you call it a "flip flop". It's not; it's a simple, coherent position: voting record = most reliable; discussion = important but less reliable. (And by the way, I was not the one to argue that "flip flops" are suspicious. I never even used that phrase until this post).

You again accuse me of "flip flopping" with regard to LMP. Again, I think I have expressed a single, coherent opinion of him - that his vote makes him look suspicious, but that Garin, Form, and possibly Tar look more suspicious to me. That's not flip-flopping; it's holding a reasoned, considered opinion (we can't all be as single-mindedly stubborn as you, I'm afraid).

Anyway, I don't want to waste a lot of time defending myself against what seem to me to be rather tenuous arguments (but then, I know I'm innocent; perhaps that's why the arguments seem so weak to me). There is only one other point I want to address with regard to my past behaviour, and that is one made by Dancing Spawn:

Well, I found the question no.2 rather odd. Of course we want to keep the Gifteds alive as long as possible, so as for their strategy: do not step forward and say: "Hey, I'm the Ranger", or "Wolves, if you want to kill the Seer, pick me." Why was it all of the sudden relevant to start talking about how the Gifted's should act? That's up to the Gifteds to decide, and that question doesn't speak for Aiwendil's favour.

I don't see why it should be taboo to talk about the Gifteds. Of course their actions are ultimately up to them to decide. And of course no one thinks they should step forward and say "I'm the Ranger" or the like.

But there are different approaches available to a Gifted. For instance - does the Seer leave hints at the risk of being discovered or keep as quiet as possible until he/she has gathered a good deal of information? Does the Ranger try to protect the Seer at all costs or to protect the person he/she deems most likely innocent? Etc. If I were Gifted (which I'm not), I certainly wouldn't mind a few helpful suggestions.

Now I'm off to review the posts a bit more, particularly to see whether Tar-Ancalime still looks as suspicious to me as she did yesterDAY.

Edit: Crossed with Ang and Garin