From: khaberl@bbn.com (Karl Haberl)
Newsgroups: rec.music.synth
Subject: Re: Flaming problem (was Re: ensoniq SD1-32 vs.....)
Date: 21 Aug 92 21:47:50 GMT
Reply-To: khaberl@bbn.com (Karl Haberl)
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com

In article <5891@vtserf.cc.vt.edu> pgr@ramandu.ext.vt.edu (Patrick Robinson) writes:
>> In article <NICK.92Aug21121343@vaila.ed.ac.uk> nick@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Nick  
>Rothwell) writes:
>> >Never has a falser word been spoken.
>
>Eric Tsang writes:
>> Actually I really don't mind
>> people say "You are wrong!!" or "This is not TRUE!!" but as least
>> you say why it is wrong.  By just putting a sentence here has no
>> respect to the poster.
>
>You haven't been reading this group for very long, have you?

Very informative and enlightening comment, I must say, given that Eric (below)
humbly admits that he is a beginner trying his best to learn new things.

>
>> ...My 
>> words are not always true(especially because I am a beginner), but
>> I would like to know and learn more,...
>
>Might I suggest that you read the group for a while before you jump
>to such hasty conclusions as "he has no respect for the poster".  

Sorry, but the "hasty conclusions" are not Eric's. It would appear to me from
Eric's original post he was simply trying to make a point that, essentially,
sound is the most important quality of an instrument. It also appears to me
from the wording of his post that English is probably not his first language,
though he is trying his best to state his opinions as clearly as he can. I
think Eric deserved a little more understanding and patience.

In my opinion, the proper response would have been something like "Sorry, but
saying that features are not that important is simplistic and incorrect
because the proper features in fact have a *dramatic* influence on the sound
potential of an instrument." And then perhaps an example or two to reinforce
the case. This would not have taken much more time than it took to fire off
the one-liner, and would have been a lot more charitable response to send out
over a *worldwide* network. I wonder if the response would have been the same
had he sent it privately to Eric instead of posting it. But then, the response
was not really intended for Eric's enlightenment, was it? Sometimes I think
we forget our manners in the often impersonal world of USENET.

Now, everybody has a bad day, when for whatever reason the wrong button gets
pushed. Something like this probably happened with Nick; we all know what some
of his "buttons" are, and Eric definitely pushed at least one. There have been
numerous times that I have gotten irritated by an email or post and fired off
a terse one-liner or a sarcastic comment of some sort. And when I do, I am in
the wrong, and I am indeed not showing proper respect. And when that happens,
I always try to send a note of apology to the offended.

Nobody needs to "read the group for a while" to learn who the heavy hitters
are. We should all be bound by the rules of common courtesy and mutual respect,
whatever our experience level or stature.

>Nick's
>(often lengthy) articles have been among the most informative and
>enjoyable of any I've read in *any* USENET group.
>

I, too, have read and enjoyed Nick's posts. So what?
I have also enjoyed Woody Allen flicks.

Both are irrelevant to this discussion.

Hang in there, Eric. Don't be afraid to stick around. This really is a good
group, and USENET can be a wonderfully informative, fun place to be. On a good
day, Nick is just as likely to give you some thoughtful advice and guidance
as quickly as he delivers his barbs.

We just all need to remember that there's *people* out there, not just terminal
emulator software and message buffers.


Karl Haberl               |
Internet: khaberl@bbn.com | 
Newsgroups: rec.music.synth