Re: Criteria time
oconnort@nyu.edu
Thu, 08 Jan 1998 18:07:16 -0500
On Thu, Jan 08, 1998 at 04:35:14PM -0500, Hapworth2 wrote:
> << Do you see the problems with being an outsider??? >>
>
> Why are you an outsider?
I think (from reading the previous messages) it involves feeling that
when some people speak up, after having been quiet, they find
themselves slapped down by some list members who have a particularly
strong view of the world and of literature and of how those interact.
And that act of slapping down anyone -- newcomer or not -- is never
something to be encouraged here.
An online service to which I subscribe, Echo (www.echonyc.com) has one
interesting hard-and-fast rule: attack the idea, not the person. The
only amendment I'd make is: there's no need for the kind of disagreement
that leaves one person feeling shabby. Here we are on this list admiring
and discussing the writing of a gentle, subtle, spiritual writer. Is it
too much to ask people on the list itself to conduct themselves
comparably?
I don't think so.
If you disagree with this, say so to the list -- but please don't feel
compelled to direct withering remarks at me. I don't wither, and I
have zero tolerance for nastiness directed my way. (I'm a nice guy,
but my online bite is far worse than my quiet bark <*grin*>.)
--tim
P.S. For those people who dip into the Web site, it is now current as
of about 2 pm EST, today.