I saw where this was going a few nights ago and started to post something to try to defuse it, but I was tired and everything I typed managed to be confusing.
Here's what I know for a fact. Communication is largely non-verbal. I could say "you suck" about 10 different ways using inflection, tone, cadence, eye contact, hand gestures, etc., and none of those times would it be offensive. I type it on the screen and all you see are the words. Absolutely none of the message has been delivered and received. That's not disputable....it's fact.
Here is what I know as pure personal opinion. I've watched some of Clark's videos. He uses the same type of vocabulary as he posts for the most part. What he says can be the exact same words as what he types and they are two different messages. When you hear him say it is funny and inquisitive....you read it and it comes across a bit more like a swift kick in the giblets. I automatically apply my patent pending "Clark filter" to everything he posts. Basically I read it as if he was saying it to me in person.
Now we don't have that same type of filter that we can apply to everyone on the internet so if someone comes on here and is acting out of line I tend to be one of the bullies who steps in and tries to set things in order....typically with some passive aggressive jabs....I'm good at that. But when I read Clark's posts about 90% of the edge is knocked off of anything that he writes. If I didn't do that I'd probably think that he was just a colossal douche-bag.
Conversely if I ever posted like I speak in real life I'd be banned within the first sentence.
So yeah, Clark comes off as opinionated and highly critical....with the Clark filter engaged. But it's not malicious. If it was I'd have blocked his posts a long time ago. I've actually PM'd him in the past and while we aren't BFF's I like the guy. He can get people riled up and to be honest I think that a little bit of it is for effect, but just a little bit. When he asks questions it's coming from how he sees things and he's got a pretty unique perspective. He may not be technically right about every single thing that he ever says, but I do think that there is a genuine desire to learn if you can get past the way that it comes across in plain text. And I really think that his perspective does him a lot of good in how he tries to get to where he is trying to go in terms of sound. He's got his own thing going on and I like that about him. He's serious about this; more so than some of us are.
Doesn't mean that he is always right about everything. Doesn't mean that what he says is the definitive in regards to anything. It usually means that it works for him though.
To me Clark is enthusiastic, creative, energetic and highly critical. Great traits to have if you are trying to get something done. Not really great traits to have if you are posting on the internet and don't want to piss everyone off in the process.
So yeah I have a very opinionated view of Clark and it's pretty positive. If I didn't feel like I had gotten to know him over the years on here I'd probably think very little of him. But it's just like getting to know anyone in life; you get used to how they are and you get used to them to the point that you don't have to even really hear the words to know what they are feeling and saying. I honestly think that the online world that we live in causes a lot more discourse because of just how much is lost in the message from just reading it. I mean how many threads do you have to read where you get to the end and you ask yourself "what in the hell just happened...how did it get from point A to just complete trainwreck within a few pages?" I'd wager that if 90% of those discussions were face to face that they would take a fraction of the time and usually end in agreement or understanding.
It just sucks when you see it happening between people that you like and respect.