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From: anderson@uwmacc.UUCP (Jess Anderson)
Newsgroups: sci.lang
Subject: Re: Abuse of the net
Message-ID: <540@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Nov-86 08:22:10 EST
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.540
Posted: Thu Nov 20 08:22:10 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 20-Nov-86 22:46:45 EST
References: <16227@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <2177@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> <1087@mmm.UUCP> <223@mind.UUCP>
Organization: UWisconsin Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 37
Summary: Abusive rhetoric

In article <223@mind.UUCP>, harnad@mind.UUCP (Stevan Harnad) writes:
> Someone using the name and institution
> 	"rathmann@brahms.berkeley.EDU (Really Michael Ellis)
> writes:
[list of coprophilic references deleted]
> I find it astonishing that such an obviously disturbed individual has
> access to an account at brahms.berkeley.EDU, let alone the news net.
> If the net is to evolve into the respectable forum many of us hope it
> will become, there must be a way of blocking this sort of misuse. Not
> all groups can be moderated, but the unmoderated ones should still
> ensure that serious consequences overtake this sort of abuse. A copy of this
> will be sent to the system administrator at berkeley.EDU. I hope
> other net news users will also bring some collective pressure to bear
> on this sort of behavior. (Apologies to any of the above-named if

For the first time I find myself disagreeing with Stevan Harnad, although
I will do so with more restrained rhetoric than Matthew Wiener did a few
postings later. When I saw the posting Stevan objects to, I was put off
approximately the same amount as he is. I sent e-mail to the poster, for
I had largely agreed with the *content* of the post, despite its style.
However, the style was *so* excessive (Stevan is certainly right about
that!), I concluded it was a conscious attempt to *have* style. Well,
it isn't my style -- it's so sort of gratuitously macho -- but in the
cosmic scheme of things, it's not all that injurious. I conclude that
Stevan is overreacting, is perhaps embarrassed on behalf of the net for
such highly colored language, knowing that many will be outraged by it.
In my view, it's only outrageous to use such language to attack persons.
Matthew, I think, was objecting to Stevan's calling down the net.police
on the poster's head. In sum, though this kind of thing is less than
ideal, and I am one of many self-appointed Guardians of Being Nice (:-),
my own view is the net should be flexible enough to remain intact and
to function smoothly in the presence of highly charged styles.
-- 
==ARPA:====================anderson@unix.macc.wisc.edu===Jess Anderson======
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