R. Lee Hawkins <lhawkins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>Hi all:
>I'm not sure if Paul is starting to get on anyone else's nerves again,
>but he sure is tweaking mine. Paul, in the future PLEASE privately
>email people when you have an item available for sale. This list is NOT
>intended to be your private advertisement vehicle. Also, emails that
>basically have no technical content (like the many you have sent saying
>"I agree completely" without adding any new info) are especially
>tiresome. Finally, your incessant use of !!!!! marks makes your posts
>appear as if they are coming from a teenager who isn't doing very well
>in their English class.
>
>While I respect you for devoting so much time to Olympus items as a
>dealer, it's getting increasingly hard for me to tolerate you on this
>list. I had thought you had agreed to carry out advertisments in
>private email, but you seem to have forgotten that commitment. *sigh*.
>
>This list has always had a high signal to noise ratio. Unfortunately,
>the day Paul started posting to the list, that ratio dropped.
>
>If anyone else is bothered by all this, please chime in. If not, feel
>free to tell me I'm just spitting into the wind.
The last time this discussion was held, I held my peace......
One of the greatest powers of the internet is the capability to share
information quickly and freely. The truly operative word there is "freely".
Without that freedom, this list might not even exist.
PvT's usage of " ! " marks may not be proper application of punctuation in
the English language, but he is free to do so - it is *his* style. His
responses of "I have one of these available for $x.xx" may not have
technical content, but neither does a vigorous thread (which I heartily
enjoyed btw) on how to find a good deal in garage sales. As with any other
participant of this list, Paul is free to do and say what he pleases. As
long as this remains a free country, he has that right.
Remember also, we all have a delete key on our keyboards. *You* have the
choice - the power- to simply delete any and every message with "Paul Van
Tuyl" in the From: section. Just zap him. No stress, no strain, no fuss.
If his messages bother you that much, I encourage you to do exactly that.
However, it is fundamentally wrong to attempt to ban PvT, or any other
person, from this list as long as it remains open to all interested persons.
Alternatively, the list could be made private - and have each subscriber
agree to and sign a Code of Conduct contract. Then you would have some
basis for due process to remove those who are hard to tolerate. But I'm
afraid that would also greatly diminish the value of this fine list and
ultimately kill it.
Freedom of speech is priceless. It must be protected absolutely. And in
the process, we must tolerate what, at times, feel like abuses. Whether I
agree with Paul or Lee or anyone else, or not, is irrelevant. Each of us
has the hard won right to speak freely.
John P
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