I hope we're not getting the messenger mixed up with the message on this
one.
I see a lot of commercial messages on the list, and no one seems to have
a problem with them. I also see non-commercial messages that people have
had problems with in the past, and I am one of those people.
I don't think anyone selling products should make disparaging comments
about competitor's products. Comments that sound like: Well if you're
having a problem with that product maybe you should have bought mine.
I also don't think anyone should attack another list member or make
"smartmouth" remarks about the value or accuracy of another members
suggestions. If you think another member's suggestions are inaccurate,
the correct response is to put on the table a list of technical reasons
why it is wrong and to do it in a professional way -- as if the other
guy is your best friend, but just happens to be wrong in this case.
I do not mind commercial messages on the board. I think they can lead to
trouble if not done well or carried to excess. But lots of messages on
this list can lead to trouble if they're not done well. That's why the
board needs a moderator. We have a good one.
There seems to be a certain individual who is at the core of this
controversy. I would caution him not to assume that support of
commercial messages means support of the tone of his commercial or
non-commercial messages as they were in the past. I also think this
individual has a lot to offer. More than most and certainly way more
than me. I welcome his presence on the list, and would view his absence
from it as a loss.
Lets not confuse the message with the messenger.
Don Malling
|