On Sep 19, 2007, at 10:24 AM, Martin Lewis wrote: >> Oh, for Krum's sake, Martin. Take a pill. > > I'm not sure what this means. I thought you wanted to discuss the > ettiquette of online communication? Why do you have to repeatedly > resort to these ad hominems?
I sincerely apologize for this and other ad-hominem attacks that I have resorted to, including calling you a "twit". There is no excuse, it is utterly unwelcome in civilized discourse, I should not have done it, and I am sorry. I hope enough has been said on that subject. >> If we are at a dinner party and I see you wiping your mouth on your >> sleeve, it would be extraordinarily rude of me to announce to >> everyone >> at the table, "Martin is wiping his mouth on his sleeve." >> >> If, instead, I chance to see you in the hallway and say in private, >> "Wiping your mouth on your sleeve is uncouth.", then I do you a >> courtesy. > > When I talked about the dinner party I was using an analogy. Did you > understand that? Apparently, given the unrelated situation you > describe above, you didn't. I respected your introduction of the dinner-party analogy enough to continue using it. Please read it in that light. Continuing the analogy, your forward of my private message to the list was as if you had returned from our private conversation in the hallway and announced in the dining room, "Dave just told me that it is uncouth to wipe my mouth on my sleeve. Can you believe his rudeness?" I think our fellow "dinner guests" spoke clearly enough: it is not polite to take private conversations public. It is acceptable to conduct private business in private. > Besides which, if we were at a dinner party and you presumed to > correct my manners I would not consider it a courtesy and would, in > fact, tell you to mind your own fucking business. > >> A courtesy which I now see that you do not deserve. But then again, >> extending courtesy to those who do not deserve it has a long and >> distinguished history, and even has a name: grace. > > I'm both amused and baffled that you seem to think you have the moral > high ground. What possible basis could you have for thinking so? Because (with the shameful exception of my having lowered myself to using ad-hominems), I am on the high ground. In short: - It is entirely appropriate and correct for me to take a private conversation off-list for the benefit of the list and the parties in the private conversation. - It is entirely inappropriate and incorrect for to inflict those messages upon the rest of the list just because you happen to feel slighted by them. That is the moral high ground on which I stood. With that, I am finished discussing it with you in front of the list. If the list wants to continue a discussion of netiquette, I will do my best to contribute in a courteous manner. Dave _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
