Slamming

[Michelle Corbin Nichols <tigger -at- VNET -dot- NET>]

Perhaps I used the wrong word.   Perhaps there is something else nibbling
at me.  Perhaps I want less opinion and more "fact."  Perhaps I am just too
sensitive to passionate debates.  Perhaps I just want everyone to get
along.  :)

I want very much to be a part of this electronic community, and to feel
that my ideas and opinions are welcome and encouraged.  That is one reason
why I have started posting much more than I ever have in the past 4 years.
Yet, I am still cautious about what I send directly to the list and what I
send individually to the posters.

While I cannot point to (and will not search for) the specific instances
where I have felt "slammed" for something I have said, it has happened on
more than one occaision.  I am not saying it is the norm, or the "usual,"
but it does happen and I know many people who have left the list because of
it.

Sure, you can say "get thicker skin," and "it's all part of newsgroups" to
have these passionate opinions flying around. To me, that's the easy way
out.  We are technical communicators trained in the art of communication.
One would think that our electronic community would exhibit more of our
basic training than the influences of the Internet as a whole.

Thanks for listening.

TTFN,
Michelle

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