Hrmm, that's a fairly lengthy response my qmail compatriot. Recently I have
seen a lot of these "get me off the list" or "help me because I say so" kind
of messages and quite frankly my fuse ran out so I felt it necessary to say
something perhaps to make myself feel better :) Forgive me, but you must
admit it is becoming a problem!
Julian
> >When someone makes a snide, demeaning, or insulting comment, does it
truly
> >make them feel better? Does it better the situation?
>
> Rarely. But, just as you took it upon yourself to tell others, who were
> complaining about the guy posting off-topic material to the list, that
> *they* were misbehaving, *they* were telling *him* that *he* was
misbehaving.
>
> Yes, some of them were too "rude". But he (and others) can delete and
> ignore such mail just as easily as they're expected to do so for mail
> from people asking "how can I get off this list".
>
> In a large meeting-room full of earnest people, quietly discussing issues
> they consider quite important, it would be considered *very* rude if
> someone started repeatedly yelling "I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO OPERATE
THESE
> EXIT DOORS SO I CAN LEAVE THE ROOM" because they weren't reading whatever
> instructions were available.
>
> Such an individual should, instead, look for one or two particularly
> knowledgeable people and quietly ask them for assistance, after having
> exhausted the "read the instructions" phase of problem-solving.
>
> In such a case, people in the meeting-room yelling back "STOP ALL THAT
> YELLING YOU IDIOT" also would be considered rude, but to some people
they'd
> at least have some hope of preventing *others* from thinking the meeting
> is "fair game" for *any* issue somebody wants to yell about.
>
> Fortunately, off-topic email is easier to ignore than off-topic yelling
> in a meeting-room.
>
> However, one of the ways people handle off-topic email is to leave the
> forum where it's being permitted. (I've done so several times.) Once
> it becomes clear that many participants prefer to yell at people for
> *complaining* about off-topic mail or other rude behavior over (politely)
> indicating that off-topic mail and rude behavior are not welcome, people
> who might have been substantial contributors to the forum often decide
> on their own to leave.
>
> After all, that, too, is easier to do in email than leaving a
meeting-room,
> especially one joined by virtue of a substantial investment in the room,
> a hotel, travel, etc.
>
> And once enough *contributors* leave a meeting-room or email forum, it
> loses its value.
>
> In short, it's become fashionable in some societies (e.g. the USA) to
> vociferously complain about "intolerance" and other such behaviors
> while studiously ignoring the society-eroding activities that trigger
> such behaviors in others. That fashion has had at least one general
effect:
> of causing many to no longer risk telling others when they *are*
> behaving badly, lest they be upbraided for daring to "judge".
>
> So I don't disagree with you that some of the responses here were rude.
> But they were in response to some pretty rude behavior (although, I think
> the originator did make a good attempt to redeem himself by posting
> useful info on what he found to be the problem, and probably learned
> his lesson -- not just how to unsubscribe -- anyway).
>
> tq vm, (burley)
