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Ron Augustine <RonAug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> As stated previously: When one or two brief Posts from someone
> who may or may not intend to contribute something of value results
> in 30 or 40 posts containing personal attacks, slanderous comments,
> and racial & ethnic slurs -- something is wrong.
Agree 100%. The sheer volume of bashing is far greater, and in my
opinion far more offensive, than the original posts they bashed.
In my opinion the back-and-forth insults, profanity contests, and
general level of abuse are a worse problem than the spam.
I'm no fan of spammers, and I never have been. I've been on the
Internet since it was called ARPAnet back in the early '80s, and I
remember how nice it was before the marketeers descended upon us like
a flock of vultures. But I also remember how nice it was when people
on the net behaved like civilized adults, and didn't resort to
screaming, swearing, and name-calling whenever they disagreed with
someone. Spam is not the only source of annoying noise on the net.
Bill Eykyn's posts were self-promoting ads, no question. They
definitely pushed and probably exceeded the limits of acceptable
content. But I for one found his posts fairly interesting, if you
sifted out the hype. I certainly benefited more from his posts than
I have from the shouting matches that resulted from them.
How many of you bashers scream epithets into the phone when a
telemarketer calls? Assuming you do, would you do it if you
inflicted your venom onto hundreds of innocent bystanders at the same
time? That's EXACTLY what you're doing with your posts to the list.
A private (and civil) note to the poster saying "That content isn't
appropriate for XYZ reason" is probably going to be at least as
effective as a public screamfest -- it may not work, but the
screaming often doesn't either -- and it's far less annoying to the
rest of the list. If the personal contact doesn't work, then I
suggest you appeal to the list owner. If he feels it's
inappropriate, he can deal with it. It's his list. If he doesn't
feel it's inappropriate for his list, then your issue is with him,
not the spammer.
If you feel you MUST do something public to save helpless newbies
from the evil clutches of the spammer, then at least have the decency
to do it with some class. Your message will be a lot more effective
if it's delivered in a rational style, without all the abuse and
personal attacks. And you won't drive away a lot of valuable and
helpful list members in the process, as you are now.
Gary
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