X-Message-Number: 1469 Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 15:57:07 EST From: (Perry E. Metzger) Subject: Cryonics: Being Polite I want to say to all on the Cryonet list that although there has been a bit of progress, lots of people are still failing to follow proper Netiquette. I suppose that this has become my personal crusade, because I'm not going to let up on it. In particular, I still see virtually all of my "rules of good behavior" being ignored by a large segment of people. To recap... Electronic mail is a detached medium. Its very easy to call people lots of names in E-Mail, because you aren't in the same room as the people involved and thus don't have to deal with their reactions. Thus, its possible to engage in heated and very nasty discussions. Don't fall prey to this. In a mailblast in the last 24 hours, someone opened an article approximately like this. "Joe Blow is a jerk who applies double standards." Now, I'm not going to quote the exact line, because I don't want to single anyone out, and I've slightly altered the line to suit my pedagogical purpose. (For instance, the original used other inflamitory language instead of saying "jerk"). If you were the person who posted a line like that, please don't take what follows personally. Whats wrong with this line? 1) Its inflamitory. 2) Its ad hominem. It doesn't matter who is making a comment, whether Ayn Rand, Mother Theresa or Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler could say that 2+2 = 4 and even though he was a really evil person the statement would still be true. The personality, tendancies, shoe size, sexual proclivities, and even rudeness, of another person is NOT a valid argument for or against their ideas. If you think someone's ideas are wrong, attack their ideas. 3) Its insulting. Few people would go up to someone and say "You are a jerk who applies double standards". Most people know better than this because occassionally you get slapped for doing things like that. Unfortunately, few people seem to realize that its just as big a blow to the other person's ego when transmitted by e-mail. If you wouldn't say something to a person face to face, don't say it email. Even if you WOULD say something face to face, be careful before putting it in email. It doesn't matter if the other person is the antichrist -- insulting them will only lead to further insults and bickering instead of good discussion. If you feel that it is your purpose to cause others emotional torment and get them to try to do the same to you, then I suggest that you use another forum, because the people here do wish to communicate. Just my thought for the day, Perry Metzger Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1469