Klarinet Archive - Posting 000277.txt from 2003/07

From: "Tim Roberts" <timr@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Polite Reminders
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 13:53:31 -0400

At the risk of being labelled a snobbish elitist, I would like to make a
little speech about some things about the Klarinet list that do not seem to
be obvious.

1. It is not necessary to reply to every message, nor even to most messages.
Do not think of the list as a chat room; think of it as a daily newspaper
that happens to accept have lots of guest columnists.

2. Every message you send magically becomes 1,500 separate messages, sent
individually to 1,500 different people on 1,500 different computers, each of
whom will have to read it and take some action with it.

3. A message should provide some value. Messages like "Quite right" and "Me,
too" and "Probably so" and "Nuff said" do not provide value. It is arguable
whether THIS message provides any value...

4. Assume the worst when writing a message. Read every message you write
BEFORE you send it as if it had been written by your worst enemy, and see how
many things can be misconstrued. Corollary: almost everything can (and will)
be misconstrued, usually in the most unflattering way possible.

5. Assume the best when reading a message. Since most people will not heed
rule #4, you should search for the positive connotations in most messages,
not the negative ones. A person who writes an opinion you happen to disagree
with is not your worst enemy, even when they express their stupid opinions
very strongly.

6. Don't take it personally. Many list members -- especially younger members
-- tend to read assertive or critical messages as if they were aimed directly
at them. In virtually every case, this is not true. With a few rare
exceptions, we've never met; I have no clue whether we would like each other
or not, but whether we do or not is simply irrelevant. Until proven
otherwise, we are professional colleagues trying to further our collective
knowledge, not children trying to establish social supremacy at the lunch
table.

7. No one knows everything, but some people do know more than others --
sometimes a LOT more. There are a surprising number of people on this list
who truly are world-renowned experts in their field. Posts from those people
deserve a little extra consideration, especially since they often do not
follow rule #4 above. Do not dismiss a controversial opinion without first
figuring out whether the speaker deserves consideration. By the same token,
do not take every post as recognized fact without first figuring out whether
the speaker deserves consideration.

Thank you for your attention. We now return to this week's issue of Marching
Band Daily.

--
- Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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