Re: Shallow Intellectual Drivel on this List
Tim O'Connor (tim@roughdraft.org)
Fri, 31 Jul 1998 20:30:58 -0500
> Why does there seem to be a particularly significant, though not out of
> control, but nevertheless significant amount of flaming that goes on on
> this list? I was thinking about this question I arrived to an answer.
I have to confess that I think there's relatively little "flaming" here but
a reasonably high level of dissent. The difference, as I see it, is that
(to borrow a quote from Echo, the online service) we tend to "attack the
words and not the people." There's not much attack of people. Ideas get
support or snipes, but personal nastiness is relatively rare, and is
generally managed quickly and (in some cases) not in the list itself, but
by private email.
I look at it as a lively exchange of ideas. I don't always agree with
things that come up, and so I don't always feel compelled to chime in on
every topic. Some just don't interest me. Or, more often, I just don't
have time to comment. (Unfortunately.)
> In any case, I'm wondering, what do you all think about what I am getting
> at here? Am I overestimating what I perceive to be a diversity phenomenon
> resulting from the universality of Salinger's works, or not?
I do not know the answer to that, but I think you have a core of people who
are ready and willing to think for themselves, and not to accept on its
face what other people say. Which is not a big surprise if we consider the
subject material. (I suspect that Salinger enthusiasts tend to question
"received wisdom," which is more or less reflective of the spirit of the
work we talk about.) It's not unusual for healthy dissent here, I believe.
When it crosses the line into nastiness, the attacked defend themselves, or
others speak up. But it's downright civilized compared to much of what
I've seen elsewhere.
That's how it seems to me. How about hearing from people who don't
normally speak up? What do you think?
--tim o'connor