On Sun, Dec 02, 2012 at 06:12:32PM +1100, Erik Christiansen wrote:
>
> That seems a more positive step than just plonking the barbarians at the
> gates who refuse to recognise the price of receiving free help. (And
> yes, even in this reply, we're doing your research and investigative
> thinking for you.)
>
Ok, this, more than any of the previous discussion, clarifies the
situation for me. Within the global community of hundreds of millions of
email users, there's a smaller, cloistered constituency of perhaps a few
thousand who prefer the classic text-only tools of 30 and 40 years ago.
Within that smaller group, there are some who regard the larger world of
email users with contempt. I've seen the terms "lazy," "ignorant,"
"stupid," and "barbarians at the gates" used by members of this list to
refer to those who don't adhere to their strictures. They chastise those
who post without following these undocumented rules, or just summarily
delete such posts. Some claim the "rules" are so venerable and obvious
they do not require explicit statement. Some members of this group even
presume to be providing invaluable service to the world, as suggested by
Erik's parenthetical above.
In my view, no amount of argument or evidence is going to change the
minds of anyone in this smaller group. That's fine. Within the domain of
lists that discuss these classic tools, we should adhere to the
practices of that community.
-pd
--
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Peter Davis
The Tech Curmudgeon
http://www.techcurmudgeon.com
