Before everyone erupts in a furor of disgust and support for and against
Art, allow me to point out that Gert misinterpreted Art's gently mocking
humor. Art was trying to get Helmut back on Conch-L, not to make fun of him.
At least, so I interpret from Art's quite serious and unambiguous words
spoken to me in person a few weeks ago.

I suppose that email will evolve international standards of what is proper
to say and not to say, especially when the listservers are not so heavily
weighted toward the USA. Until then, we will have to live with the
occasional 'culture clash' as people misunderstand one another. In this
case, Germans will have to get used to the idea that a joke is not
necessarily an insult, and Americans will have to learn that joking does not
always make people feel better about difficult subjects. Don't worry; we're
all still learning.

Yes, a little variety is good, but these paroxysms of attacks and apologies
are enervating, and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed watching Conch-L
gradually return to normal. So let's just ignore this and move on to other
topics.

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama