[Foundation-l] Lead by example

[Ryan Lomonaco]

 On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 2:50 PM, Virgilio A. P. Machado <vam at fct.unl.pt>wrote:

> I forgot at least one of the rules (probably more) of this list, and
> (almost) always addressed my comments to the person who made the
> comment. The exchange went well, was mostly good humored, but that's
> not how things are supposed to happen here. I apologize for so
> blatantly disrespecting that list rule, and any other one, that I
> might not be aware at the moment. I appreciate the patience and
> understanding of all directly involved, and all the readers who had
> to endure my misbehavior.
>
> That said, there's no excuse for the overblowing of my comments and
> hyperbolic references to "personal attacks," by now a concept so
> overused that it has lost any credibility whatsoever.
>
> [...]
>
> To call the attention of ALL participants in the discussion to
> "Please focus on the comment, not the person making the comment." is
> absolutely right and appropriate. To make it in a message addressed
> to me smacks of "personal attack," and since it was made by a list
> moderator, I would say that is a very serious offense. We all should
> be aware of our responsibilities. We all have duties and rights here.
> One wrong, does not justify a worst one. Any moderator that fails to
> perform his duties appropriately, should take a leave of absence,
> graciously submitting a request to be relieved of his responsibilities.
>
>  From them on, an exemplary participation in this list would be the
> best and only argument to ask to be reinstated as a moderator.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Virgilio A. P. Machado
>

This comment slipped by the first time, but I want to bring this up to
illustrate a point.  Virgilio is referring to an e-mail I sent to him,
asking him to cool down in a somewhat heated discussion earlier this week.
I sent the e-mail while sleepy and probably could have phrased it better; I
also sent the e-mail to Virgilio only, rather than to all the participants,
who also could have used a reminder.  I've apologized to Virgilio for
handling the issue poorly, but this is another example of why it's a bad
idea to send an e-mail when not in the right frame of mind!

Proof that we all make mistakes.

-Ryan

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[[User:Ral315]]