Very possible.Sein wrote:May be the "intellectual" atmosphere make people consider twice before posting then? Don't know if it good or bad.
Reminds me of a very sad interaction from a few years back when one of our resident Pali experts was responding in a thread. By page two another member had begun to object to the technical terminology being used, but instead of asking for clarification this member just went about accusing the poster of talking over people with "his Pali prowess". I'll never forget it. Knowledge was the enemy. The member who was sharing their knowledge of Pali - instead of being seen as a valued resource - was perceived as trying to make others feel stupid.
For me when I see someone post something that I do not understand (due to the depth of the words or the technical presentation), I try to do everything I can to understand it. And if I fail to do so I will either ask for clarification or I will double down my own efforts to become familiar with what that person is saying so that the next time I may understand. And if that effort fails, then I reconcile the fact that if I want to speak on those terms that I have to work hard in order to do it. But by no means am I going to ask that member to altogether dial back their mode of responding for my own sake.
The membership on DW as a whole have done a very poor job of protecting and appreciating two types of members: those who know very little and those who know very much. The former are scolded for their confusion and the latter for their abundance of knowledge. The only "acceptable" member is one who shows they know something but not too much.
I could rattle off the names of several members who's knowledge is beyond value, but due to the resistance (or lack of appreciation) they have encountered over the years have either left altogether or just pop up from time to time. That is not to say that one or two were not quite arrogant, but it should be worth the hassle in most cases IMO. While I do not believe one needs to be a Pali expert in order to make progress, that does not mean I don't rely heavily on the work of such experts to clarify meaning (because I do), and I would much rather be humbled by their expertise then be without it.
Just my take.