Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.235) on May 24, 2000 at 18:59:15:
In Reply to: PinkSharkMark....it seems to me that............. posted by Tracy on May 24, 2000 at 17:32:42:
Me? Pride? I have no pride. How can any teary-eyed snot-dripping head-banging excuse-making-for-not-being-able-to-work-for-weeks-at-a-time moaner and groaner have any pride left? It is to laugh!
I agreed in my follow-up posts that changing our behavior to impress visiting non-clusterheads was unnecessary. I admitted that I hadn't thought that point through until I read some of the responses to my original post, and was now in agreement with your (and others') opinion. I apologize profusely if I failed to make that clear. As I said before, things that I write don't always seem to come out as they are in my head. I will strive to improve.
However, I continue to believe that toning down some of the more extreme language, and trying to lessen the number of lengthy threads that seem to consist mostly of personal attacks would be of benefit to some CLUSTERHEAD readers who are distressed by that kind of thing. From e-mails that I have received from some who used to post here and no longer do, I found out that I am not the only one who holds that opinion.
This is, of course, only an opinion, not an attempt at censorship. There is a world of difference between censorship and self-restraint. Censorship is imposed from without, self-restraint from within. Nothing I write here can FORCE anyone to change their way of doing things, only at best make them consider whether they can achieve their goals in a different manner. Jack's post of May 23 titled "Discretion, Propriety and Self-Censorship" is an example of realizing something that makes one reconsider one's standard way of doing things.
I will continue to believe that we would have more contributors to this board if the atmosphere were just a tad more civilized. From what I can see, those who express themselves in a colorful and agressive manner tolerate the more sedate posts quite well, and will stay with the board no matter how many polite posters there are. Is the reverse true?
Do I believe you are attacking ME? No, unless the crack about "thought police" was directed at me :) Do I respect your right to disagree with my opinions? Yes. Do I believe that I can change your mind? It is abundantly clear that I can't. So....
I surrender!
pinky