Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!ukma!mailrus!bbn!gateway!NSWC-OAS.ARPA!dsill
From: dsill@NSWC-OAS.ARPA (Dave Sill)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Looking gift horses in the mouth.
Message-ID: <31995@bbn.COM>
Date: 8 Nov 88 16:15:24 GMT
Sender: news@bbn.COM
Organization: Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, VA
Lines: 27

Reid M. Pinchback writes:
>...  When
>users don't get these people to jump up and down at their beck and call,
>we begin to see increased net bandwidth consisting of messages containing
>snide remarks and personal slights.  
>...  Requests for info are reasonable,
>but David [Langdon], don't you think it would make more sense to
>sound encouraging instead of sarcastic? ...

Let me say right off that I am extremely grateful to those selfless
individuals that donate well designed, carefully implemented software
to the community.  

But really Mr. Pinchback, aren't you taking this just a little too
seriously?  What's wrong with a little sarcastic spice in an otherwise
bland request for information?  Lighten up!  And if you really want to
encourage and support the authors of free* code, do what I do: send
them money, offer to be a beta tester, offer to write code, or offer
to help distribute code. 

* "free" as in "open, not impeded or restricted"
=========
The opinions expressed above are mine.

"Computers should work the way beginners expect them to,
 and one day they will."
					-- Ted Nelson