[Foundation-l] Lead by example

[Virgilio A. P. Machado]

Let's see if I can get this right.

There has been a very entertaining, albeit totally useless exchange 
on this list, as far as real results are concerned.

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.

Let me quote some examples of what was NOT perceived as "personal attacks":

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 17:15:29
From: M. Williamson

"he perceives it to be dominated by Brazilians."

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 01:09:08
From: David Gerard

"This is Virgilio's pet around-and-around topic on this list."

(The above line was the sum total of this comment)

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 12:55:29
From: John Vandenberg

"Thanks Mark."

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 13:09:30
From: John Vandenberg

"gramatical is spelled wrong.

and 'mistakes' is only true if you consider the Portuguese Language
Orthographic Agreement of 1990 to be a mistake."

(Notwithstanding this was all that was posted, it led to a pretty 
pleasant exchange between me and John. Most of the time, big boys 
don't need to be patronized. We took good care of ourselves. No 
moderator intervention was necessary.)

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 21:59:28
From: Nathan

"It's possible he has more experience with a grammar than you expect."

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2010 01:09:10
From: M. Williamson

 > Before signing off, and before I forget, let me
 > ask another trivial question. It has been a long,
 > long time since you have opened a grammar of any
 > language, hasn't it? That's an easy guess,

"Watch the personal attacks. [...] So I'll thank you to cease your 
personal attacks."

My whole paragraph was:

Before signing off, and before I forget, let me
ask another trivial question. It has been a long,
long time since you have opened a grammar of any
language, hasn't it? That's an easy guess,
considering what a grammar is
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammar) and that
the differences between Brazilian Portuguese and
Portuguese of Portugal go way beyond differences
in orthography. You'll find a lot of good links
here:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Vapmachado/Portuguese_language_issues,
particularly this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Portuguese#Grammar

[...]

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