"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
.. .
There is a difference. Murdering someone is directly affecting them.
Choosing unslightly ( your view) windows is not.

It does directly affect you, but nowhere near as much.

Agreed.

How far should you take it? I happen to think that fiat motor-cars are
very ugly. If I lived near you should I be able to tell you not to buy
one and place it on your property? How about if I didn't like the
look for your partner? Should they be banned from the area to save my
distress from looking at them.

It goes as far as society deems to be acceptable. There are no hard lines
drawn here. Society has decreed that it goes far enough for some
particularly good looking period areas to be designated conservation areas
and be protected. However, society has clearly decided not to ban the use
of Fiats. And if you'd met my partner, you'll realise that she wouldn't be
banned from anywhere for bad looks!

:-)
But is it really society, or a small but vocal section of it? I'm asking
the question and don't pretend to know the answer.
Tastes vary as well. If a group of me and my insane mates decided that some
60s monstrosities were worth saving and kicked up a fuss, would that be
deemed as a demand by society?

Excellent. Then I won't be afflicted by your appalling taste.

Either you are a troll or one of the biggest snobs I have ever
encountered.

No, I just don't like uPVC windows on period properties for which they are
inappropriate.

Fair enough. However, there are many things that I considder inappropriate:
fat girls with bare midriffs for one, but there's nothing I can (or should
be able) to do about it.

They might evey his being able to afford them - not saying it applies to
you, but it often does to these petty people (not you). It's similar to
people saying I wouldn't want a big house/ Rolls Royce when they can't
afford one but want to pull another (wo)man's achievements down.

Hardly. Decent sliding wooden sashes are more expensive than plastic
windows. I am more likely to be in a position of having plastic windows
and not being able to afford the wooden ones. In fact, that is exactly my
position.

Ok. I though it was the other way round, but accpet I was wrong.

Fair enough. If you don't like the things you shouldn't have to have
them. But how would you like it if your neighbours told you to install
nasty plastic ones against your will.

If I lived on an estate where my non-plastic windows were incongruous, I
would think that they had a point. I think that my previous house (1986)
would have looked ridiculous with sliding wooden sashes, just like a
Victorian terrace looks ridiculous with plastic, or an Art Deco mansion
flat looks ridiculous in anything other than Crittalls (which are now
available in modern double glazed replacement form).

But the owner may not think it is as ridiculous as you. For the record, I
agree with you that in many cases plastic does look awful, but appriciate
that (a) it should be up to the owner and (b) each material has its pros and
cons.