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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-miles!chabot
From: chabot@miles.DEC (L. S. Chabot)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Do the Great Moronic Masses Need Electronic Hand Jive?
Message-ID: <862@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 4-Mar-85 10:46:40 EST
Article-I.D.: decwrl.862
Posted: Mon Mar  4 10:46:40 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 6-Mar-85 03:48:25 EST
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Ken Arndt  ==  >>>
>>> That is, some persons reading my postings on the net can't tell when I am
>>> being serious or if I mean what I say because I don't make use of the 'smiley
>>> face' symbol to let everyone in on the tone of my voice.  It was told to me
>>> that it was in the net 'rules' that use of the ( :- ) was incumbent upon me. 
>>> 
>>> Well, I have thought about that and I have decided that it's a bunch of bosh!
>>> I mean, I see no real substantive difference between what you are reading on
>>> this screen and what you would read in any type of hard copy.  

L S Chabot  == >>

>> Big difference:  what I normally choose to read in hard copy is written by
>> *professional writers*.  
 
Gordon A. Moffett  ==  >
> Oh my God!  I'm no longer qualified to use my native language!

Lest others accuse me of such idiocy, I will explain again the difference
between the two issues which here are demonstrated as lsc's choice and gam's
fear.

First of all, there is the matter of "hard copy".  I don't know about the rest
of you, but I would feel awful committing in ink onto the corpses of trees just
about anything we put in net.flame.  I may choose to read net.flame, but not
on paper.

Second, there is the matter of choice.  Gordon, and Ken, well, you can post
all you like, but you can't make me want to read it.  I don't care what 
language you use, or what deities you invoke.  I'll make my own choice.

Now, I realize, this is pretty awful, to admit I just might not read, or even
print out and keep forever, someone's pearls they've carefully misspelled and
posted in all their favorite newsgroups.  If this is more than some  can take,
suggest you end it all now by wrapping your keyboard cable around your neck;
after all, life is a downer, somebody might not like you, and a phone bill may
arrive in the mail tomorrow and the neighbor's dog will eat it.

But wait!  Tomorrow is another day!  We can continue: posting, and not reading
each other's postings (or at least, ignoring the content).  :-)

Which reminds me: our smiley need to get more technical, we need to convey more
information in them.  People with glasses of course have more than two eyes, 
and should own up to it with a ::-) (those with monocles can try :.-) ).
Crooked smiles, wry smiles, braces "}{", double noses "=", winks ";", 
crossed eyes "%", large curly noses "@", television antennae "X", 
curly hair "*", tongue to the right "\" and tongue to the left "/", 
c-programmers, christians "+", yuppies "$", rodents "#", blindfolds "|",
single, married "&", intelligence "0", ...  :-)

L S Chabot
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