You say hostility is not the answer but then you blast murphy for stating his opinion.

Also, since we are on Lasers, I WAS a member of the Laser class, raced 1 year with them. The 3 different classes you talk about, well when the wind picks up, some sailors switch to a radial sail, but still race SMOD, totally legal apparently. There was always alot of talk amongst the group about who should be sailing in what class, none of it was welcoming or uplifting.
Also, talking about SMOD keeps cost down? Try to by the new Laser downhaul kit. Its like $300, but I can buy a Harken pivoting exit block, a couple of small airblocks, 2 pieces of line for under $100, and I have the same thing. But thats not class legal beacuase I didnt buy it from Laser.
Im not trying to stir the pot, but when I see guys who are factory reps talking like factory reps, and guys who are Hobie dealers talking like factory reps, and people who clearly only see Hobie as the only brand, then I have to call BS.
I know what happened in my area, and it wasnt pretty. Maybe other parts of the country can fall victim to the SMOD fantacism and claim it works well for thier area, and maybe it does, but not here in the Southeast.