On 26 June 2013 10:15, H. S. Teoh <hst...@quickfur.ath.cx> wrote: > On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 09:58:59AM +1000, Manu wrote: > > On 26 June 2013 08:16, Jonathan M Davis <jmdavisp...@gmx.com> wrote: > [...] > > > I was very surprised by how many valuable discussions and > > > interactions took place outside of the talks. I don't think that > > > that value can be overestimated. For instance, I suspect that almost > > > all of us view Manu somewhat differently from having interacted with > > > him in person. He's still somewhat abrasive in person but nothing > > > like he is online. You get a very different view of someone from > > > interacting with them in person, and I found that many discussions > > > were far more effective when we had the opportunity to discuss stuff > > > in person informally rather than in the newsgroup (as valuable as > > > discussions here can be). > > > > > > > Brutal! ;) > > Heh... I must say, watching Manu's talks gave the necessary context to > interpret his online writing style, which are actually *not* abrasive as > some might construe them to be. It's a case of "lost in transit": online > text is notoriously bad at conveying the author's emotions and tone of > voice (that is to say, not at all), so an offhand joke or casual remark > can be wrongly taken to be a personal attack when there is no such > intention on the part of the author. Getting to know a person (in person > :-P) makes a big difference in how you interpret what he writes. >
Haha, well I'm glad to hear that! I think it's safe to say that my generally blunt and perhaps somewhat northern-australian inflammatory sense of humor just doesn't translate to text. I've also never involved myself in any online community before, and just write basically how I talk. Believe it or not, I'm actually a friendly guy! ...or at least, I like to think so... ;)