<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>From time to time we all must accept that this list is for piano technicians and people who wish to become piano technicians and as such = the wishes of the entire list should be listened to not as you put it "the = majority of participants" as the majority of participants is at this time turning = this list into a junk platform so if you want to make inane comments to other = "majority of participants" do it privately and save the other 600 people = on this list from having to browse through your drivel. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3>You = wrote</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If I find the conversation gets too = technical and serious-minded, I will simply unsubscribe and use the archives as = needed. Then I will find other outlets for my need to communicate with humor, = curiosity, and real interest in the lives of fellow tuners.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Please do so as I believe if you do this banter will stop. You = started it and others with leak minds followed.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tony Caught<BR><A href="mailto:caute@optusnet.com.au">caute@optusnet.com.au</A><BR></DIV>= <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=mathstar@salemnet.com = href="mailto:mathstar@salemnet.com">Alan R. Barnard</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, September 19, = 2002 4:08 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Comments & = Criticisms</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From time to time we see people = criticize participants in this chat for their quips, quotes, howdies, and jokes.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My two cents:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This being a democracy, the chat will = be what the majority of participants mold it to be, over time.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>There are some who wish it all to be = serious and technical. That's okay. That's fair.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Others enjoy the banter and the = camaraderie of comrades in arms (arms and hammers, actually). That's okay, too. (Yes = it is! Now don't argue. Read on ...)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am, unashamedly, of the latter = disposition. I really enjoy the contact with people who fight the same battles I = fight. Sometimes, ours is a pretty lonely trade.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Others are more serious-minded and/or = introverted. At PTG meetings, a common topic is "How do I get the = customer to stop talking to me and, in fact, leave the room." To this, I say: "Why = would you want to?" People have temperaments, too.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I think neither side is "wrong" = unless felt and expressed in a judgmental way; which is sometimes the tone of said = critical posts.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If the current flavor of the chat--it = will change over time--is not to the liking of any participant, he or she may = reasonably choose to leave. They can still benefit from the helpful = information and advice of the chat by searching the archives.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>But please don't threaten to leave, = as if you were scolding children. Just bow out quietly.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Better still (we WOULD miss you), = participate in the serious stuff. Ask and answer good questions. In time, the = character of the crowd may sway more to your liking. This thought occurs because I = have noticed that people with such "complaints" are usually not the ones = who are actively chatting--even about technical or business = issues.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So, for now, I plan to stick around = and I refuse to feel any guilt or shame for my big electronic mouth. I yam what I = yam. The only thing that bugs me about the site are the occasional whiffs of hatefulness and intolerance of alternate viewpoints. But that's part = of life, too.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Since I am one heaping coals on = foreheads of the serious-minded and, since I have always had an overactive guilty = conscience, I felt a twinge of "O, dear" when I read the most recent critical comments.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>When I am corrected or chastened, I = hope I have demonstrated that humility is the way to learn. I've seen others = employ it here, too. Hence, my comments. I don't feel guilty of anything and I = won't be changing.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If I find the conversation gets too = technical and serious-minded, I will simply unsubscribe and use the archives as = needed. Then I will find other outlets for my need to communicate with humor, = curiosity, and real interest in the lives of fellow tuners.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Am I right, or am I wrong? Ah, that's = the point. There IS no right or wrong about this. But there is something every = bit as important as my obligation to not intentionally offend others: Others = have an obligation to take no offense when none was intended, or when sincere apologies are given.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In a note of delicious irony, this = post and all the threaten-to-leave posts are definitely OT (that's "Off Topic" = for you folks in Rio Linda)</FONT> <FONT face=Arial size=2>and should = be banned.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Keep smiling, folks. Life is far too important to take seriously.</FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial = size=2></FONT> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>