Posted by Simon (213.122.40.140) on August 19, 2001 at 13:39:35:
In Reply to: This is a friend? How does this happen? posted by Piper on August 18, 2001 at 18:46:02:
We seem to have come up against the written English problem.
I read that as a genuine comment. Not knowing jonny personally it is something I might have written. Along with "jonny seems..." as an example, it depends a lot on tone of voice, which cannot be conveyed.
It seems (!) to me that Bennie Sue wrote an excellent e-mail, little of which jonny could REALLY disagree with if he sat down and engaged in the sort of self-analysis we all need from time to time.
Maybe if you'd taken different phrases from her letter, the emphasis would have come over differently:
He is generous when donations are asked for.
If you called him and asked for help, he would try to help you.
Would Bennie Sue's e-mail then be a negative one?
Just wondering really why an e-mail should become public in this way.
Simon