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Re: [Groff] Would I dare to post here?


From: Werner LEMBERG
Subject: Re: [Groff] Would I dare to post here?
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 23:41:13 +0200 (CEST)

> Soon I'll need groff so I subscribed to this mailing list.  I've
> read many interesting and useful things here but after the latest
> posts I am not sure that I would dare to ask a question at
> address@hidden

Sometimes people underestimate the tone of a post.  This happens to
everyone.

>      "Now, why on earth would you do this????"
>      "Why are you messing up with the carefully tuned system files."
>      "But I also didn't mess up anything ..."
>      "People have already told you..."
>      "... as I told you before..."
>      "I always thought OpenBSD users know better than this."
> 
> put you on a pedestal (that you may richly deserve), but they also
> make the recipient's face red.

Mhmm, please bear in mind that many posters don't have English as a
mother tongue and that a post which should have a neutral sound gets a
harsh tone due to lacking language abilities.

An additional factor is that many people simply don't have the time
(or aren't willing) to reread what they've written.  I do, for
example, but at the cost of working extremely slowly.  Answering
emails eats most of the time which I can afford for working with my
computer, given that I have a family and a job which isn't related to
the IT business at all.

> He is not likely to come back for another serving, you have just
> turned a friend into an enemy.

Well, this is an exaggeration IMHO.  If we all feel like this there
won't be *any* newsgroup or mailing list -- shit happens, from time to
time...

> I wish you good luck and less use of destructive phrasing.

Indeed.


    Werner




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