Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!well!levine
From: levine@well.sf.ca.us (Ron Levine)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Practical Intro to PHIGS (new book)
Summary: An apology
Message-ID: <24476@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: 29 Apr 91 05:56:05 GMT
References: <1991Apr19.175910.2922@Stardent.COM> <24373@well.sf.ca.us>
Lines: 37



I offer my sincere apologies to Messrs. Howard, Hewitt, and Hubbold,  
and Ms. Wyrwas for the excessively emotive language of my two 
postings critiquing their book.   It's all due to excessive 
haste, beginning with Jan Hardenbergh's hasty uncritical rave 
review, through my impulse to respond to his unjustified use of 
the superlative emotive "great book", and ending with my haste to 
post my response, trying to clear the issue from my agenda, 
without letting it simmer at all.  This haste is characteristic 
of the USENET medium.  To be sure, you would never find such 
language in any of my writings prepared for print.  Especially, 
in my second posting, I would take back "is being duped" and 
replace it with "would be disappointed", which would make the 
sentence correctly express my belief.   

I am very sorry that I did not and still do not, have the time to 
fashion a thorough, orderly, and dispassionate critique.   But it was 
a great mistake to let myself substitute strong language, because 
it diverts attention from the validity of the critical points that I 
made.

Not to prolong the flame, I will communicate directly to the 
authors the rebuttals I have to points of their rejoinder.  (I 
cannot reference this rejoinder, from toby@cs.man.ac.uk with 
subject line "A Practical Introduction to PHIGS and PHIGS PLUS", 
because it has not yet appeared on the system where I read 
comp.graphics.  It was fowarded to me by a reader of another 
system.)  

It seems to me that the fundamental issue here is that my minimum 
standard for well crafted explanation in expository technical 
writing is somewhat more stringent than what satisfies many folk 
in this computer graphics community.  If I dare risk one more 
emotive, I find this state of affairs discouraging. 

Ron Levine