Thanks Amy, you sound like Rodney King, but as a new subscriber I appreciate
both sides of this heated discourse and agree that nobody who is reading
this needs another mom...so in the meantime.."Can't we all just get along??"
-----Original Message-----
From: Amy Lyn Edwards <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, August 26, 1999 10:00 AM
Subject: Conch-l moderation


>Conch-l is an UN-moderated list.  What does this mean?  It means that what
>you post to the list is redistributed to everyone on the list without
>anyone checking it for spelling, punctuation or netiquette (see:
>http://www.fau.edu/netiquette/net/index.html).
>
>This WILL NOT change because I DO NOT intend to play mother to all 400 plus
>people on this list.
>
>Everyone has an occasional bad day and multi-year subscribers will often
>vent on the list a bit more than new subscribers who are more concerned
>with what other people may think of them.  New subscribers will ask
>questions that have already been discussed to death.  We also all have
>replied when we didn't mean to (if you haven't you will - trust me).
>
>If I have to I can and will remove a subscriber from the list.  I don't
>think this is the best option since I do know so many of you and CAN'T
>BELIEVE you all are not capable of conversing in a polite productive manner
>about molluscs.  From my point of view molluscs are the most diverse,
>complex, amazing group of animals on the planet.  The people I have met who
>work with molluscs and collect shells are just as interesting as the
>molluscs they collect.  There are billions of questions, wonderful stories
>and just plain interesting stuff to talk about so why waste time on other
>things.
>
>Here is a suggestion that I hope you will all consider:
>
>If you are upset, angry or just in a bad mood - DON'T REPLY RIGHT AWAY!
>
>Erase the email address in the 'To:' line so that YOU CAN'T REPLY RIGHT
AWAY.
>
>Compose your response and then WAIT.
>
>RE-READ your response SEVERAL times during the next TWENTY FOUR HOURS.
>Spend a little time venting at your computer instead of the list.  It will
>make you feel better.
>
>If at the end of that time you still want to respond - CONSIDER CAREFULLY
>should your response be sent to the WHOLE list of 400 people in over 35
>different countries AND become part of an archive on a web site that anyone
>anywhere at any time can read OR should you send it directly to the person
>who wrote the email that got you upset?
>
>Maybe they didn't mean what you thought they meant.  Maybe they have a
>unique sense of humor.  Maybe they don't have as good a grasp of the
>English language as you do.  Why don't you send them a personal email
>politely explaining that their email hurt your feelings and why.  Most
>people if given a chance are not as bad as their email can make them seem.
>
>Amy, list owner
>
>
>Amy Edwards, Program Coordinator ------ [log in to unmask]
>
>Georgia Museum of Natural History    --------    phone (706) 542-4137
>University of Georgia            --------            FAX 706-542-3920
>Athens, GA 30602-1882       --------       http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/
>-------------------------------------------------------------------
>"A man's mind, stretched by new ideas, can never go back to its original
>dimensions."             Oliver Wendell Holmes