[R-390] RANT: The Delete Key and Unwanted Threads

[Barry Hauser]

Hi Jim:

Snotty?  Obnoxious? That was just me trying to be helpful and diplomatic.

(BTW - Jim, it could be taken as sarcastic repeating my stylistic greeting
and closing.  Somehow, you seemed to take it personally, though not directed
to you.)

Yes, the ballast tube thing went far -- too far, but it's part of the
process.  Serves to goose up the list -- grease the skids, clear the pipes,
etc.  Highly traditional.  If you look over the last few days of posts,
there were a number of substantive threads -- some of which were no doubt
stimulated by the atmosphere of banter. Otherwise reluctant subscribers were
encouraged to post.  Happens all the time.  Lurkers emerge -- often with
on-topic questions, etc. Revitalizes things.

Part of that process, or tradition, is the inevitable complaint or two which
serve as punctuation marks to end the romp. It's really not necessary,
because these things die down fairly quickly, but it's nonetheless
traditional.   Whether or not you agree with all that (tradition, etc.),
it's one thing if the inevitable complaint comes from someone like you who
contributes from time to time.  It's quite another if it comes from someone
who seems to take the position that others are the hired actors and he's the
only paid ticketholder in the opera house.  That's a tad snooty, if not rife
with nasal effluence.  Don't ya' think?

So, my point had to do with the source and tone of that particular rant or
screed, not to mention the critique of a Tom's library analogy.  Yes, you
can go to the card catalog and do the Dewey Decimals and choose your aisles,
etc., but by the same token, you can choose your subscriber mode as well,
right?

Sorry if it came off a bit sharp around the edges, but I was trying to be
diplomatic while suppressing .. extreme annoyance, to say the least.  I
rarely ever reply to things like that -- let 'em go.  But this time, a reply
seemed to be in order.

Actually, Bob Camp expressed the whole thing a lot better than I have -- see
his post.  As he says in his closing paragraph (in essence) -- it ain't just
about the radios.

And you never know what will be truly useful information.  Let's say the
boss comes over for dinner.  Thinks you're a regular guy.  Then spots a rack
of '390's and asks what are those?  What do you do?  Well, if  you're like
most of this, you may involuntarily lapse into a technical and historical
description hopelessly typecasting yourself as some kind of oddball with a
weird hobby.  (It's a highly rarified interest, practically impossible to
explain to "THEM".)  But, fortunately, as you spot the 3TF7 or remember it,
you adroitly change the subject by offering him some kielbasa and a bottle
of stout.  He may decline the offer, but at least you've bailed out.  You
see -- you never know what will be useful.

So -- technical note to Clay -- before they get automatically purged -- go
back to your "Deleted" folder in Outlook or whatever, sort by subject line,
highlight all the R-390 posts, and move them to a new, dedicated R-390
folder.  Then you can go in and prune, moving the silly posts to a "silly"
subfolder -- but don't delete them.  You never know. ;-)

Barry


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Brannigan" <jbrannig at optonline.net>
To: "Barry Hauser" <barry at hausernet.com>; "Clay Curtiss W7CE"
<w7ce at curtiss.net>; <R-390 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 8:44 PM
Subject: Re: [R-390] RANT: The Delete Key and Unwanted Threads


> Hi there Barry,
> Your response to Clay might be considered snotty or obnoxious by some.
> This is a technical reflector and many people ( including myself) have
> learned a great deal about our R-390 radios.
> I really appreciate the wealth of knowledge and helpful character of the
> members.
> A person who was merely browsing the digests or achieves might be turned
off
> by the adolescent (juvenile?) humor (sic) that seems to permeate this
> reflector.
> While the delete key is useful, each posting needs to perused to determine
> if it contains useful information.  After a 100 or so "Humorous" postings,
> one tends to delete ALL....and much useful information could be lost....
>
>  best and sincerest regards
> Jim