Cyndi writes: > If everyone would post in plain text there would be no problems.
To which I say, AMEN!!! <LOL!> Each mailer I've yet seen so far, whether a program that runs on your machine, or a web-based system you access from your web browser, provides a way to tell it to compose messages as plain text, leaving off all the confusing and poorly standardized controls for fonts and colors, and so on... Please use it! Not only will that minimize the risk of other people not being able to read your messages, but will also vastly reduce the size of your messages, as well, which will be appreciated by everyone who's still on dial-up or has a slow machine. The kibitzing between Wayne and Pat is a marvelous example of why we all need to be: Sensitive in what we write... Thick skinned toward what we read! It takes time and care to write so that people receive the meaning and tone you intend to project. Always re-read what you write before sending, looking for anything that could possibly be misinterpreted -- understanding that misinterpretation is the norm rather than the exception! This text-only medium, however you dress up your fonts, still suffers from very narrow bandwidth when compared to face-to-face or a conversation via telephone. The people reading your message cannot see your face, your body language, or hear the tone of your voice. They cannot recognize the often subtle cues that distinguish humor or a gentle banter from ridicule and hostility -- or arrogance. Then, when reading what others write, we really have to pay attention. Often, as in a couple of these recent messages, the quoting gets thoroughly confused and it's difficult to know who's saying what, who they're saying it to, and what they're responding to. If I have to, when composing, I will cut and past every sentence and label each one with the name of who wrote it, in order to make sure everybody reading my message knows what's going on. It's my job as author to include enough context that my reader can understand. In every case, it is too easy to see rudness or insult in another's words, and you need to make a deliberate effort to read them in the most benign possible voice, in order to counter the inherent harshness of the medium. So Wayne, I'd suggest that skimming is fine most of the time, but that before you hit reply and start typing you'd better read carefully enough to know what's going on, even if that means reviewing an entire thread's worth of previous messages in order to get the drift and flow of the conversation. And Pat? I think you did an admirable job of resisting the temptation to take offense for a good while there. You still kinda gave in at the end, though, didn't you?! <grin> I notice, too, that you addressed a number of statements toward Wayne, and also described some of the problems you've seen with message fonts, but you never did actually ask a question that I saw... Which only carries us back to the demands of clarity, and writing deliberately and with care. And always writing, folks, with care for the *person* at the other end of that wire. It's a real job to nurture a community and build friendships in this place -- but worth it, I think. Peace, Mike D. Da list owner guy... [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>
