P3D Re: WELL? (metadiscussion)

[roberts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (John W Roberts)]

>Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 06:22:17 -0700
>From: ron labbe <ron@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: P3D WELL?

>John Roberts writes to "Emanon":

>>(I realize it's become the custom to include a malevolent insult in reply
>>to every one of your posts, but I don't have one handy - sorry.)

>He's still here touting his invention but STILL he's not spilled the beans
>or let one of us check out his amazing new device... 

I don't have much sympathy for people who are so proprietary about an invention
that there's no way to find out if it's useful (like the guy who invented
the "Starlite" heat resistant material), but requiring that somebody on the
list send him a few dollars for the plans isn't quite so extreme a situation.
(Disclaimer: I don't know what happens if you actually order the plans.)

>what are we going to do with this guy? just let him off the hook? 

Of course not. But blasting him when he asks about a catalog or a 3D
camcorder appears to be irrelevant, and speculating on whether he's
sufficiently cultured to have indoor plumbing (a recent post) just plain
doesn't belong on this list.

Much worse than anything that happens to Mr. Emanon is what you guys are
doing to this list. Remember that P3D has a high turnover rate - since
the flaming started, there are possibly 50-100 new subscribers, many of them
new to 3D. Without having seen the original "offense", their impression may
well be that "if I post a question, I'm going to get blasted too", or even
"if somebody else posts a question that seems elementary to me, it's OK to
blast them". You ought to at least tie the flames back to the original
topic: "Oh yeah? Well, if you don't already know how many photographers
were employed by the Keystone company in 1927, then how dare you invent
a new 3D device?".

>I say "Put up or shut up!" (is that a little harsh?)

Does "shut up" mean "shut up on *all* topics"? Do you intend to blast
*every* post from Mr. Emanon, no matter what the topic, until he comes
clean?

John R


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