We can all agree I hope that this forum is for the discussion of herbalism, the use of herbs for medicinal purposes. Some of us think that this also means that no other type of medicine should be discussed at all, and I think that that is dangerous and shortsighted. Like all decision medical decisions are probably better made with more information. The medical literature is where we go to find good solid scientifically designed studies on safety and efficacy. In addition to that many of the prescription drugs offered today are extracts from herbs that have been purified and had doses standardized, or are derivatives of those extracts. Now most of the discussion undertaken by us "medical stooges" is in regards to the safety and efficacy of an herbal based medical intervention, this is absolutely applicable to the herbal direction of this forum. Occasionally other options will be mentioned, this is for the purpose of providing vital information regarding alternatives that may be safer or more effective or less expensive or all three. Any advice given here is that of other users and GardenWeb makes no warrant as to its appropriateness, but typically reliable sources can be found and shown in defense of a suggestion. If we were in a carpet forum and someone had a question about dust and allergies a suggestion of hardwood flooring would not be out of place, because in discussing a subject discussing a viable alternative is still on topic.

In my experience when someone has good information and sound logic behind their position they welcome opponents, because its through debate that they can really show how much better their ideas are. However when someone fails at making logical arguments for their case they will often tell their opponents to leave, or shut up, and try to disparage their credibility, typically by attaching a negative label to them; this typically makes the problem worse because the party doing the labeling recognizes the inherent flaws in this method and this generates insecurities. The better opponent (who is often equipped with an inherently stronger position) who is winning is thus the source not only of a threat but also makes the weak opponent uncomfortable with themselves. Something to think about when you are trying to get someone to not object to what you are saying.