Faith concludes: > We cause as much pain in the world when we take offense as when we > give it.
Very interesting summation of the idea, Faith. Dee writes: > I agree totally with you Mary Ann, civility costs nothing and it > is surely a positive thing to make people feel good rather than > the opposite... Civility costs effort, more or less depending on your personality. <grin> Mary Ann says: > The measure of any group of people in society -- > cyber-society included -- is the level of behavior of the least > of that society. If it is required of polite people to become > thick-skinned and tolerate bad behavior, then everyone loses Yes, and somewhere between these two legitimate ideals -- perfect civility and perfect immunity -- is the reality we live in. Anybody who wants to launch into great dramas every time somebody else says something that can be stretched enough to be interpreted as offensive will be just as disruptive as Simon/Charles, as well as fail to achieve any of their own goals for their participation. We've all seen these personalities. They usually don't hang around very long. On the other hand, if you stubbornly persist in injecting unnecessary little personal jabs at people while ostensibly helping them, you're going to create a problem, too. Still, the reason I'm most disappointed in Charles, is that this list is, in essence, my property, the product of my labor. The atmosphere I foster, the effort I put into making it a welcoming place and keeping the discussion on an even keel, is what will make the group attractive to people and allow them to use it to meet their own needs and encourage them to help each other. You don't come in here and expect to be able to dictate standards of behavior! I'm astonished that an ostensible libertarian would be so disrespectful of another person's property rights! And be persistently aggressive, too. Both are antithetical to libertarian philosophy. <sigh> So I agree with everyone who says you shouldn't let yourself be bothered by idiots on the 'net. But that doesn't mean I'm obliged to let anyone come in here and stealthily corrupt the atmosphere I'm trying to create with hostile and aggressive behavior. Be well, Mike D. [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [mdev...@eskimo.com ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com Address Off-Topic messages to: silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@eskimo.com>
