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From: ins_akaa@jhunix.UUCP (Kenneth Adam Arromdee)
Newsgroups: net.jokes.d
Subject: Re: THAT article - the sequel
Message-ID: <1441@jhunix.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Dec-85 16:52:05 EST
Article-I.D.: jhunix.1441
Posted: Fri Dec 13 16:52:05 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Dec-85 04:31:50 EST
References: <1798@teddy.UUCP>
Reply-To: ins_akaa@jhunix.ARPA (Kenneth Adam Arromdee)
Distribution: net
Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ. Computing Ctr.
Lines: 57

In article <1798@teddy.UUCP> rdp@teddy.UUCP writes:
>Well, the flames are come fast and furious over my silly little joke
>... Funny how people don't seem to think that a joke that they
>willingly and eagerly fell for belongs in net.jokes. 

There's a difference between a joke that you tell to someone, and a joke that
you play on someone.  Net.jokes is for the first type.  
 
>Now, some statistics. Since I posted the original article, I have received
>85 replies by mail. At first, the real rabid flames were outrunning the
>positive responses by about 10 to 1. Now, however, the people out there that
>have a good natured sense of humor are overtaking the doting sourpusses
>among you.

>Those that have flamed (like Martin, above) remind me of the kids that can
>tell the worst and unfunniest of jokes ("Did you hear about the Black
>Puerto Rican Nazi Polish Italian Blind dead baby-eater who..."), then gets 
>all bent out of shape when somebody short-sheets their bed at camp.

Again, one is a joke told to someone, and another is a joke played on someone.
The distinction is that in the former case you have an option whether or not
to listen and in the latter case you're participating whether you want to
or not.  (And don't say that you had the option whether or not to read your
article.  The article was written so as to deceive its readers.  If your
motivation was just to tell a joke and you didn't want anyone to take the
article seriously, you could have had, for example, a subject line saying
"I don't *really* mean it but..." or something similar (smiley faces aren't
enough).  If you had other motivations, such as conducting an "experiment"
in which you expect some people to take the article seriously, then you 
shouldn't be surprised if some people are deceived into actually taking it
seriously.)

>As an aside, the highest incidence of spelling and grammatical errors
>are to be found in the mail I have received from the flamers. What this
>means, I'm not really sure, but I'm certainly willing to surmise the
>very worst.

I think this reply is reasonably free of spelling and grammatical errors.

>For those of you (about 50 so far) that have sent messages like:
>> You mean people actually took that article seriously?  I just thought it was
>> one of the funniest thing in net.jokes in a long time!
>thanks, your response has been both warm and gratifying. As to the rest of
>you, keep them cards and letters coming! We all need something to laugh
>about.
>Dick Pierce

I have seen enough serious postings as ridiculous as your article was
that I had good reason to take it seriously.
-- 
If you know the alphabet up to 'k', you can teach it up to 'k'.

Kenneth Arromdee
BITNET: G46I4701 at JHUVM and INS_AKAA at JHUVMS
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