jj@alice.UUCP (12/15/86)
In article <555@cartan.Berkeley.EDU>, gsmith@brahms.UUCP writes: > In article <1484@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes: > This is a good example of why enforcing a politeness standard is > an idea whose time should never come. People's ideas about it are just > too different. I think Steven Harnad was very impolite indeed; Steven > presumably thinks that he was merely serving as the Voice of Reason. This is a remarkably ridiculous statement! Saying that Harnad was impolite, BECAUSE HE DISAGREED WITH YOU, is only self serving. I guess that in your polite world, everyone would agree with you? On the other hand, I think that a politeness standard (enforced by protest, shunning, and voiciferous mail complaints) is essential to the fabric of society. Since society exists only because of the cooperation of the people, at least in small things like civil behavior, perhaps what's being said here is that gsmith really wants to destroy society. Wonder what he'd like to replace it with? (Wonder if he even thought about it?) > >Observation of these people in other conversations shows that they employ > >insult routinely, in fact whenever possible. The whole reason for their > >participation in public discussions seems to be to show their superior > >intelligence by putting others down, not to communicate or to learn. > >Obviously there is nothing to be learned from such a person. > > I think it is clear that Tim has a good point here: obviously anyone > whose last name is not "Maroney" must be an over-inflated geek to insist > on flaming. Only Tim Maroney should be allowed to flame anyone ever. A > consistent application of this useful and logical principle would go a > long way to ending this whole "censorship" discussion and would make > life easier for Tim Maroney besides. The above two paragraphs point out which is the straw man... Obligitory complaint: GET THIS OUT OF NEWS.MISC, I DON'T THINK NEWS ADMINISTRATORS CARE, EXCEPT ABOUT THE THEIR TIME THAT YOU'RE WASTING! -- TEDDYBEARS ARE FOR ALL YEAR. "Kiss me, Kate, and cursed' be he who first cries 'Enough!' " (ihnp4;allegra;research)!alice!jj