From: fuller@enigma.bgsu.edu (A.J. Fuller)
Subject: Re: ignore Lazlo Nibble's outbursts
Originator: fuller@enigma
Reply-To: rec.music.misc
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 05:25:23 GMT

davisonj@en.ecn.purdue.edu (John M Davison) writes:
> 
>      A word to alt.rave and rec.music.misc newcomers: Lazlo Nibble is, quite
> often, an incorrigible knee-jerk who looks for trouble where there isn't any
> and criticizes people for no reason other than to stir up a fight.

       A word to alt.rave and rec.music.misc newcomers: Lazlo Nibble has in
fact been known to stir things up on the groups in which he participates.
However, has has also been known to provide a _large_ volume of useful, 
well researched, and interesting (IMHO) information to the groups in which
he participates.  As someone who has personally benefited from Mr. Nibble's
posts in the past, I felt obliged to followup this post in the interest of
providing an alternate viewpoint.

> For example, he told me to "eat shit" after I posted an article saying that
> Freddie Mercury deserved to die of AIDS if and only if he were aware that he
> was contracting AIDS (e.g. by willfully exposing himself to someone who was a
> known AIDS carrier). My article, which was written with no particular morality
> in mind except for the assertion that if a human being performs an action for
> which a particular consequence is known to be likely, then that person can be
> said to deserve that consequence, was hastily read and consequently
> misinterpreted by Mr. Nibble as an attack on non-heterosexual practices --
> hence his knee-jerk "eat shit" response.

      When presenting personal views in a public forum, especially on a
particularly emotional or controvertial subject (such as AIDS), one should
expect that responses will potentially be rather highly charged or emotional,
and also based on personal opinion.  Perhaps your intent was not to post in
an anti-homosexual framework, but it is a feature of a public fourm that
opinions are open to the readers interpretation and personal reactions.
While you are clearly welcome to react to Lazlo's response as "knee-jerk",
but when the subject mater is eseentially pure opinion, a seemingly 
"knee-jerk" opinion is indeed still a valid opinion.

>         Now, a little while later, Lazlo is up to his inflammatory nonsense
> again.  Having posted some helpful articles here and there, Mr. Nibble seems
> now to have appointed himself policeman of alt.rave and rec.music.misc, giving
> himself free to badger those who don't spend as much time scouring ftp sites
> as he does. 

     In the above, you make an allusion to the main point I hoped to make
in this followup.  That point being (in your own words). "(Lazlo has) posted
some helpful articles here and there."  I personally would have to define
the frequency of helpful posts from Lazlo as being significanly greater than
"here and there".  I am not atempting to make excuses for the more combative
posts that Lazlo has made (and no excuses are really necessary), but rather
to point out that (IMHO), the positive contributions Mr. Nibble make to the
groups he participates in far outweigh the negative feelings harboured by 
those he has locked horns with on various issues in the past.

>         Practically speaking, it's best to ignore Lazlo Nibble's outbursts,
> something I will do from now on.

     Perhaps, but it would be a shame to ignore the whole of Lazlo's 
contributions for the sake of a personal disagreement.  T have follwed up
this post in the interest of presenting a differing opinion, and my ramblings
have certainly not been intended as a flame of John Davison or his personal
opinions.  John began his posting as an advisory to new readers of the groups
to which it was posted, and I hope that my thoughts can be viewed in the same
light.  No one should crucify of bestow sainthood on Lazlo based on the 
comments of these posts.  My point in following up is to say, please take
the time to judge Lazlo (if you feel the need) based on your assesment of
his contributions (or shortcomings), and not by adopting the sort of 
"knee-jerk" reaction which John feels he received.

> -- 
> John Davison
> davisonj@ecn.purdue.edu

--
A.J. Fuller
fuller@enigma.bgsu.edu