Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pacbell!pbhyf!rob
From: rob@PacBell.COM (Rob Bernardo)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: Elm 2.2 miscellany
Message-ID: <5013@pbhyf.PacBell.COM>
Date: 13 Apr 89 22:17:29 GMT
References: <5191@nis.mn.org> <5192@nis.mn.org> <5006@pbhyf.PacBell.COM> <5197@nis.mn.org>
Reply-To: rob@PacBell.COM (Rob Bernardo)
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Lines: 43

Robert Granvin:
+However, I find the phrases within brackets [...] aesthetically
+unpleasing now that they are punctuated.  The punctuation everywhere

Robert Monio:
+sufficient for closing punctation on Elm's messages.  Why overdo it?

Rob Bernardo: 
+as one of the elm developers im curious to understand why the use
+of punctuation would actually bother you i ask this because i would
+have thought that either 1 people wouldnt care about punctuation or
+2 else would prefer punctuation i wouldnt expect that there would
+be anyone against punctuation in sentential user messages why is
+having punctuation overdoing it

Robert Monio:
+Considering that my remarks were serious, I tend to not see any humor
+in your response.
+Proper punctuation and grammar is important in any type of text
+document.  This was not what I was commenting on.  My opinions
+refer to the fact that someone decided to go overboard with the '.'
+additions to ELM status messages.  I only asked for a reason.  I
+didn't ask for a stupid response.

Sorry, my intention was not at all to make light of your question. (I
only removed the punctuation as a joke - separate from the content, which
*was* serious.)

You asked "Why overdo it?" and my response was more or less "Why do you
consider use of punctuation 'overdoing it'?" Do you think punctuation
has no place in user messages? If not, when should punctuation not be
used in the way it is in normal writing?

I can't respond to "Why overdo it?" if I don't see something as 
"overdone", because you're remark comes across like someone saying
that the maid made the house "too clean" or that the painter's work
was "too careful".  I'm asking these questions to understand where you're 
coming from because we have different points of view.
-- 
Rob Bernardo, Pacific Bell UNIX/C Reusable Code Library
Email:     ...![backbone]!pacbell!pbhyf!rob   OR  rob@pbhyf.PacBell.COM
Office:    (415) 823-2417  Room 4E850O San Ramon Valley Administrative Center
Residence: (415) 827-4301  R Bar JB, Concord, California