Wow. I went fishing for a few days and missed out on this exciting thread.
Somebody owes me 10 minutes or so.
I have been both a squaddie of Mark's and an opponent of SR. As a friend of Mark's, as much as one can be friends over the internet, I am usually amused by SR's ownage smack but sometimes put off by his baiting attempts of calling people cowards.
Smack talk that includes such direct insults is really not very skillful... anyone can call people deragatory names.
Sure Shane talked good smack but as soon as he went with a direct insult like "castrati" it became a poorly veiled whine, plain and simple.
Entertaining and amusing smack talk consists of witty repartee' and zinging one liners where even the target can usually appreciate the humor.
I flew with Nath and Lev on occasion and enjoyed some of the most entertaining banter as we discussed the exploits of their latest victims. It was always gut-busting funny but fell short of direct name calling.
Direct name calling is little more than schoolground trash and it is artless.
SR would reply here that he is merely trying to goad his target to the DA.
My opinion of this, as little as it means, is that the motive simply does not justify the behavior. The vitriol and it's fallout just isn't worth it, even if the desired result(trip to DA) is achieved.
Those of you who have had the SR hook set in your mouth may want to consider this possibility: SR is challenging you to the DA because, in there, his one glaring weakness is no factor. SR is a clever stick with several tricks in his bag, certainly an excellent dueller/1v1 guy. In the DA, SA plays no role. It is possible that his one weakness is his less than stellar SA. I have gotten several easy kills on him in furballs because, by his own admission, he didn't see me coming.(The rumors are true, I'm sneaky)
If this is the case, I'm a little envious of SR. I'd like to have only one glaring weakness in the game.
Those of you who haven't had the opportunity to wing/vox with Mark should do so. He's a lovable guy with a good sense of humor and a welcome comrade.
More smack talk, less insults please.