Are you serious, jbaent? I can only see very polite and reasoned discussion. What flesh you're constantly talking about? Yes, some people have different opinions, but it doesn't mean we want to kill everybody in sight. I'm a bit of insulted when being called like that. It's so easy to tell everybody to go and "moan somewhere else".
At the same time there's literally nothing in your post I'm personally would not be agreed with. A really good analysis of a situation.
You can't beat the facts anyway, like people being confused by the Legacy/Experience/Legends advertising as DIRE STRAITS* for example.
*tribute band
What I mean with fresh flesh is that some of you (and I don't mean exactly you) looks like whatever is said, is twisted to keep insulting Phil, Alan etc etc etc. Even what they say is correct and trying to solve the logical confusion of the DS Legacy vs Legacy and anything regarding the Hall Of Fame thing, it doesn't matter what they say, because their words are going to be twisted to mean not what they say, but what "the moaners" want it to say, so they can keep throwing wood to the fire.
Anybody has an opinion, of course, everybody are entitled to express their opinion, of course. But if some opinions are always shootin the piano player, whatever he says or do, I'm also in my right to point that it is just looking for fresh flesh, or using the above example, put more wood into the fire, and keep shooting the piano player.
I never mind about Phil Palmer, in fact I never liked his playing, to me, is the very last DS guitarist in my list, too technical, too good, but no soul, in my opinion, but if I read something he says, good or bad, I don't let my personal opinion to get over what I read. Palmer made an statement, that's it to me. Same with anything else whoever says. All stories have at least two sides, but we only see one and we don't care of the other, as it's not the side we chosed.
And, by the way, any tribute band, advertise itself as Dire Straits. All of them put their name in the posters, even the DS Legends/Legacy/Experience, but the biggest you can read in the poster is DIRE STRAITS. That's called marketing. And it's often made by the promotors, who wants to sell how much tickets as they can.