Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!ispi!jbayer
From: jbayer@ispi.UUCP (id for use with uunet/usenet)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: Looking gift horses in the mouth.
Summary: The written word is often taken the wrong way
Message-ID: <246@ispi.UUCP>
Date: 9 Nov 88 14:58:31 GMT
References: <31995@bbn.COM>
Organization: Intelligent Software Products, Inc.
Lines: 34

In article <31995@bbn.COM>, dsill@NSWC-OAS.ARPA (Dave Sill) writes:
> 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? ...
> 
> 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. 

Something many people, especially those participating on the net, forget
is that the spoken language is very different from the written language.
During speech the voice can have different tones and inflections put
on the same words to give them totally different meanings.  Unfortunatly,
the written word loses that.  When words are put on paper and/or video
screens, the subtle meanings are usually lost.  When a little sarcasism
is typed in it may sound and mean either nothing, or exactly what the
writer had in mind.  However, the people who read it will not usually
be in the same frame of mind as the writer.  Because of this, the readers
will interpret the written word in a (possibly) different manner.

I do not want this to be taken as a critisism of Mr. Sill, but rather as
a warning to all readers of this net.  Remember, please, to think on 
how your writings will be read, and by whom.

Jonathan Bayer
Intelligent Software Products, Inc.