bobvan (12/08/82)
Floyd!trb (Andy Tannenbaum) and yale-comix!bj (B.J.) have both recently stressed the importance of understanding an article before flaming about it. I agree fully -- having been both the misunderstander(?) and misunderstandee. I'd like to make a related plea, encouraging people to flame by mail *before* flaming to the net. Quite recently, I posted an article that was misunderstood. Someone posted a critical follow up article due to a misunderstanding (I don't mean to place blame -- these things happen, and it takes two to have a misunderstanding). Then I had to post another follow up article clarifying my point, assuming that I was widely misunderstood. Next, the same person posted yet another follow up article attacking a different point because he's forgotten what I said in the original article. At that point, I gave up. This sort of thing can go on forever. It is not a good way to use the net. A public discussion is fine -- a public misunderstanding is not. Like a forrest fire, the best way to stop it is to avoid starting it in the first place. When you post a critical follow up article, you are starting such a fire. So please, if you want to take up a contrary point of view, consider sending mail first. Keep a copy of the letter so that you can post it if you don't get a response. Thanks, Bob Van Valzah (...!decvax!ittvax!tpdcvax!bobvan) P.s. Please don't accuse me of hypocrisy because I posted this. I couldn't have mailed it to everyone.