On Fri, 26 Sep 2003, Roy Royce wrote:
[Poor's message failed to appear in my Hotmail inbox, so I am replying to him via Saintonge's message, which did appear]
[Mr. Poor wrote:]
Mr. Royce,
Please do not call other list members names or otherwise make nasty personal remarks.
"Mr. Tim Starling is either a liar or an easily-fooled person."
Which is worse, calling someone a liar or libel?
Mr Royce, your question is a non sequitor. If you believe that Tim Starling was wrong abut what he said, the proper way that demonstrates Wikilove is to say "I belive Tim Starling is in error when he says..."
Presenting yourself to a fresh audience by accusing someone they know better than you a liar immediately makes all of your words sound shrill. In a word, you lost credibility off the start. Then, by writing of lies & libel, you've damaged your credibility further.
[snip]
(And anyone who reads my Usenet messages can see that I am by no means a vicious person.)
I don't need to read your Usenet messages. I participated in alt.religion.scientology for several years; I know viciousness. Your email that I am responding to is vicious.
Take a few minutes to calm down, consider how you can present your case in a non-accusatory tone, then do so in an email. Let's assume misunderstandings before you start seeing hostile intentions where none exist.
Geoff