At 4:42 PM -0500 11/4/96, Sandy Sandfort wrote:
Granted, but neither is it a requirement to suffer fools.
Actually I think that this view is at the core of the misunderstanding. In fact, we ARE required to suffer fools. It is a clear and acknowledged expense for an open society. This does not mean that we have to encourage them. For example, it's just fine to make a point of never responding to any mail from someone you happen to consider a fool. If enough list participants happen to concur with your assessment, a de facto state of ostracism results. We need to acknowledge the responsibility we each carry for encouraging continued activity by those we simultaneously assess as fools (or worse.) Involuntary list membership termination is a fundamental error. d/ -------------------- Dave Crocker +1 408 246 8253 Brandenburg Consulting fax: +1 408 249 6205 675 Spruce Dr. dcrocker@brandenburg.com Sunnyvale CA 94086 USA http://www.brandenburg.com Internet Mail Consortium http://www.imc.org, info@imc.org