[PLUG] Common Courtesy WAS: RJ45 to Coax adapter?

[Michael Robinson]

Paul Mullen wrote:

>On Thu, May 06, 2004 at 05:44:58PM -0700, AthlonRob wrote:
>  
>
>>Sorry, I'm still not sure if I'm feeding a troll (which is a bad
>>thing)... or just correcting bad information.
>>
>>I hate seeing such CRAP information... stuff that is so far off the
>>mark... end up in a mailing list.  Especially one that is archived.  And
>>also especially one that has people who might not recognize Michael's
>>rantings as the crap they are.
>>    
>>
>
>
>In the four or so years I've been on the list, it hasn't seemed
>difficult to tell that a handful of the folks that have come along (and
>in a few instances, gone away) might deserve to be afforded a bit more
>understanding than usual.  Would showing a little compassion and giving
>them the benefit of the doubt really be expecting too much? It *is*
>possible to correct another's errors without coming off as a complete
>asshole. Bear in mind that the list archives will recall everyone's
>posts, not just those which you consider to be spurious noise. I'd
>expect this to be an important point for those wishing to maintain a
>reasonable reputation in the local tech community (especially future
>university graduates).
>
>
>Paul
>
"We are a group of enthusiasts dedicated to teaching and learning about 
Linux and Unix. There is no membership fee to join. We welcome people of 
all levels of experience."

I guess that's just a lie.  I don't feel enthusiastic anymore.  I tried 
to help someone, look what happened when I made a mistake that was 
really only off by an order of
magnitude.  I'm not an EE.  I am a two year degreed political exile from 
PSU.  If people genuinely love this subject, I do not expect to offend 
so many that I would be
driven off purposely over a simple mistake.  It's very hard to take what 
Paul Mullen wrote.  It is a good suggestion to be careful on a local 
tech list.  My experience with
plug, if I am to take it seriously, has only suggested that I won't ever 
work in a local IT position.  At least not in a position supporting 
Linux and Unix environments.

Everyone should realize that that quote is from the main page they 
signed up through.  If it's wrong, it really needs to be taken down 
before someone else ends up in the
same boat I am in facing a post like this.

The sad story is, I have seen admissions by some on this list that they 
were purposely trying to intimidate me into staying off.  I guess that's 
considered acceptable behavior.
I guess also that there's some reason to get angry with mistakes even 
though this is email and therefore long distance communication.  By 
definition, limited and error prone.

     --  Michael C. Robinson