Of Closed minds and Open Discussions

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We have all been mylotting long enough to know our purposes of being here in the first place. It is a bonus that we are paid for what we do here. I was at first a reluctant participator to all the discussions because I thought I didn't know anything. My friend who introduced me to this site told me that was not the point and that not contributing or participating in the discussions was in fact selfish. A challenge that moved me to become hooked in mylot. It was frankly difficult and uncomfortable to be constantly challenged and there were times when I avoided being here after someone told me off in a discussion. But I learnt a lot about myself. In particular, the experience helped me to clarify my own views, discard what to me did not make sense. And I learnt that there was nothing to stop me from challenging people in the same way, the only requirement being that I had to be sure of my own ideas. The working of mylot is a bit 'special'. They provide the platform for us to post anything but except anything that they see are against their rules . Certain religious topics are allowed but get deleted when it touches the sensitive nerves of the fanatics. Many discussions posted in mylot are stymied in this way by 'sensitivities'. 'Sensitive' has become a particular Mylot code word for 'don't talk about it'. It postulates that there will be material in the discussion that could possibly upset someone so before that occurs, the discussion should not happen or should be restricted. Even certain words are sensitive and that words need modifications to pass through. We should handle these matters with maturity and, yes, great sensitivity. Sometimes people do not want to discuss about something they assume that it might offend other people or because they think they don't know enough about it. Again, one need not offend, if one knows how to handle a subject. Anyone who gets offended at a calm discussion of ideas has serious problems himself/herself. Yes, some people will get uncomfortable with certain issues but why should we cater to these few? We are supposed to become a thinking society. If we cannot talk about sensitive issues, everyone will retreat into their own little minds, boiling over their own opinions with no idea of what alternatives there may be. This only explains why there are less and less discussions going around because people needs strong stuff to read and those normally falls under 'sensitive' and maybe offensive and not healthy. I ask, what have you gained being here this far? Are you more open in your discussions?