Well, I've only been on this list since October, but I think I've gotten a
pretty good feel for the style and flavour in that short time, and all in all
it's a great resource, informative (although, like you, I spend a lot of time
scrolling through the DEC stuff :), and often a lot of fun to read.
Actually Sellam is one of my favourite posters; his comments are usually
quite appropriate and I really appreciate his often acerbic, no BS style; he
apparently values his time (and mine, as the reader), whereas a number
of people on this list apparently have a great deal more time available
than I do (and that's not a criticism; in fact I envy them).
No problem with the 'A' word either, especially when used self-deprecatingly
or as a warning to me that if I say something foolish I might not be treated
with gentle understanding and kindness; I am surprised though, that people as
intelligent as everyone on this list seems to be would not find a more
sophisticated way to show their contempt for someone else's opinions than
to just call them names (and seriously mean it as far as I can tell).
Just my C$.02 worth; as a newbie here I've got no business judging anybody.
But as a newbie, I do want to add something FWIW:
The original replies to Joee made the point that his way of expressing himself
might backfire, in that someone who might have something useful (to Joee) to
contribute might either just skip over his posts or judge that he wasn't 'worthy'
of their help. Then the replies to those replies suggested that if we alienate
Joee we might lose out on something _he_ might have to contribute.
Well, speaking for myself, although I too was mildly annoyed by Joee's style
and _apparent_ attitude, I wasted more time on and was more annoyed by
the subsequent squabbling, although the _serious_ discussions of language
were interesting for the most part. Joee himself must be rolling on the floor
laughing over what he stirred up; reminds me of the story of the person who
was incorrectly diagnosed as retarded for 2 years ("And they called ME retarded!")
I do love the irony that while there's lengthy discussion over whether it's
appropriate to type without caps, there's little interest in whether it's
appropriate to call someone an asshole - style over content, sign of the times...
My point (at last!) is this:
When I first started looking around for a place to find takers for the 30 year
accumulation of hardware, software and documentation I am getting rid of,
this list stood out among the many others as an intelligent and fairly (but
not too) serious and intelligent place; if I'd run across it a few days ago, I would
have passed it by as just another list where people spend more time yakking
and flaming each other than discussing computers and helping each other,
because the people who have relevant things to contribute either remain quiet and
invisible, or their posts are buried among the other stuff.
Maybe, just maybe, there are other people who could make substantial
contributions to this list and vintage computer collecting in general who'd feel
the same way, despair of finding a suitable place to post, and move on or just
toss out their stuff and whatever resources or expertise they may have.
I like your idea of separate lists, in fact I am on a list that does just that;
one list for the actual purpose of the list, and another for OT threads, rambling,
ranting and raving. Works very well for me; I have a choice whether to just
quickly read the important stuff in case there's something urgent to reply
to, or grab a cuppa and 'socialize' for a while.
Oops, this rant's getting longer than even Richard's recent ones; just wanted
to say that while we're certainly going to yak among old friends and ramble OT
occasionally, maybe we should try to stand out among all the other lists and stop
short of the point where someone new with something to contribute will pass
us by and write us off as just another bunch of assholes...
mike
Incidentally, Lawrence, I haven't gotten any replies to my off-list messages to you
about the books & NetCommander; are you getting them or is there a problem?
-----------------------Original Message-------------------------
From: "Lawrence Walker" <lgwalker_at_mts.net>
Subject: Re: Language and English
As a fellow Canjen. Welcome to the classiccomp mailing list. Hey if you
want nit-picking and flames look back in the archives a couple of years ago.
At that time Sellam was known as Sam and his sig included the disclaimer
"occasional asshole" which I seem to have, in my own mind, at least,
inherited. Cmon Sellam tell me to F.O..
If this happens I promise to nevemore trangress the OT rule.
Unless neccessary.
Lawrence
Received on Sun Jan 06 2002 - 02:35:37 GMT
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: Fri Oct 10 2014 - 23:34:53 BST