"When you post a provocative idea, back it with as many facts as possible, or float the idea then be prepared with facts to back it up."
Have you considered the alternative, which is when someone posts a provocative idea and won't back it up, to just ignore him?
Well, I was speaking to the original poster. That's advice for potential respondents.
The original post was on topic, if not very convincing of its stated position. I think it's a fair question to ask if els should be torn down or not, but, especially on a board where people are inclined to favor els, you need to make more of a position than E_DOG did in order to hope to get reasoned responses, IMO.