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And if you hate the guy a lot (I do) you can always go to the conference and boycott his particular talk.

Note that not simply not attending isn't a boycott; a boycott implies some sort of protest: not attending and inducing others not to attend. And that would probably not be appropriate at the conference.

> Boycott, trans. verb: to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a person, store, or organization) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions[1]

Your definition isn't necessarily correct. I don't think the commenter you're replying to meant any harm, just that he'd rather not participate in listening to that particular talk.

Which is a shame, really. It's a shame that people feel the need to ignore entire people and all of their ideas just because of one idea that the person had. As the quote goes, "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." [+]

But that's that person's right, to abstain from interacting from a person. I don't think it was meant maliciously. I think it's just a sort of misguided kind of thinking.

1: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott (emphasis mine)

+: I mean no offense to the person you're responding to either; I believe Eleanor Roosevelt should have exchanged the word "small" with "closed".

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