Colin, I'm really sorry if it appears that everyone is ganging up on you, but you were out of order - sorry.
The one I feel bad for in all of this is Paul who raised the thread in the first place. I can't tell from the photo, as it's not a close up, but he looks quite young. Just what sort of example is that to set before a young man. He puts out a perfectly reasonable and well worded question, then gets a reply like that. What are his parents going to think?(again, I'm assuming his age here, I could be wrong. If not, then it's still a valid point in principle).
And the worst of all, is that it comes from a tackle dealer.
Colin, if it was a 'wind up' as you say, then you misjudged the whole situation. Certainly, banter is part of the Forum, but I think it's very important that when we do fool around, we do so with people who know us, and they know exactly where we are coming from.
But I don't think it was a 'wind up'. I think it was a thread you replied to and has back-fired.
For the sake of Paul, why don't you mail him direct and apologise? If he wants to be a carp angler, so what? If you want to be a fly angler, so what? Neither is superior or inferior to the other, only what certain anglers try to make it. In fact, when I started fishing again in the mid 90's it was fly fishing that I took up. At this present time I'm going carp fishing. Does it matter? Live and let live I say.