Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!intercon!ooblick
From: ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: So am I, waiting
Message-ID: <1607@intercon.com>
Date: 7 Dec 89 03:54:15 GMT
References: <941@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM>
Reply-To: ooblick@intercon.UUCP (Mikki Barry)
Organization: InterCon Systems Corporation
Lines: 37

In article <941@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM> denise@dadla.WR.TEK.COM (Denise Caire) writes:
>I can't help but notice you along with Ed B., Mikki B., Mike M.,
>K. Sullivan, and who knows who all never address the fact that
>someone in this group said to shoot cats enticed to birds at feeders.

Excuse me?  I was calmly staying out of this one, waiting for it all
to blow over.  But not before I posted multiple pieces taking to task
those who advocated shooting cats.  I received quite a bit of flack
from people saying that cats are not entitled to roam on their property,
and citing various laws, etc. etc.  Perhaps you remember?

Let me offer a little bit of advice from a veteran of the net.
People will respond in kind.  If you accuse them of cruelty to their
cats by leaving them in the house, they will start to resent you.
If you continue by snide remarks, they will turn up the heat in kind.
If you then start name calling and then complain when others return
the favor, you will look like a hypocrite.

A very real danger in this forum is that the words stand alone,
without facial expressions, smiles, snickers, etc.  This makes
the net a place where ideas can easily be misconstrued by others,
and your reputation (if there can actually be one for a faceless
name floating down a telephone line) can be reduced to mud by just
a few postings.

Tenatiously holding out in a group where nobody wants to hear
what you are saying will also add to the cannon fodder that will be
flung in your direction.  and "you started it" cries don't help when
you are placed in everyone's kill file from Maine to Australia.

>How can an attempt to educate people be a flame war?  All in ones
>perspective I suppose.

Maybe that is part of the problem.  This IS a flame war.  Nobody wins.
"The last word" is a hollow victory at best.

Mikki Barry