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<DIV><FONT size=2>Dear Maria,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I've been "kind of" watching the threads that you've =
been
involved with and have just read your resignation from the =
"group".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I hope you would reconsider your decision after =
taking a look
at some of my thoughts:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I too have come close to unsubscribing in the past =
after
receiving a barrage of less than polite messages; I have also been a =
perpetrator
of some messages I regret.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>The written word between two or more people in the =
same
village can be misconstrued so much more easily than the spoken word =
with it's
inflections, facial expressions and the like. Take a group of people =
this size
and throw in the spice of international diversity with different =
customs,
doctrines, and what all, and the soup one is left with is, well,
interesting.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Wern't you the one who started the "shitty little =
piano"
thing? I loved it! Sure, you got some grief and some other misc., =
but this
was not a human tragedy in my mind. After the dust settled the thin =
skinned
ranters went back into their little caves to wait out the next battle - =
over
whatever. Wait long enough and they'll create one.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>My best friend is my "delete" button. While I get =
annoyed over
the redundancy, (one question about where can I buy felt and there's 88
answers), I just omit them from the screen - as I do with the obnoxious
contributors. My Outlook Express allows me to "block sender" and in some =
cases
I'll apply that to someone. You can always undo that later if need
be.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>All in all, in my humble opinion, I relish the =
communication
between this group and people like you from the other side of the =
planet.
Chances are we'll never meet in person, but because of the unique nature =
of what
we do for a living and the ideas, funny stories, techniques, even =
the
arguments we share keep me coming back for more. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I suggest the bottom line is that we =
<STRONG><EM><U>need you
</U></EM></STRONG>and others like you. When we commit a faux pax we need =
to be
adult and apologize. At the same time when we're insulted, I think some =
time in
reflection and attempting to better understand the difficult nature of =
cross
culture communication would be a good step in becoming better
people.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Heard the expression "throwing the baby out with the =
bathwater"? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>How about "sticks and stones...." C'mon back - you =
really DO
have some friends in cyberspace.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Roy Ulrich</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>NE Minnesota</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>