<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 = http-equiv=Content-Type><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 = Transitional//EN"> <META content='"MSHTML 4.72.3110.7"' name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Well done Roy!  I couldn't have = said this any better.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT><FONT size=2>Oh well - time = to go back to my lurking ;-)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Stephen</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Stephen Powell RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Auckland, NZ</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><A href="mailto:Pianotec@ihug.co.nz">Pianotec@ihug.co.nz</A></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 solid 2px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: = 5px"> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>-----Original = Message-----</B><BR><B>From: </B>Roy Ulrich <<A = href="mailto:ulrich@rangenet.com">ulrich@rangenet.com</A>><BR><B>To:= </B>Maria Arnelof <<A = href="mailto:maria.arnelof@spray.se">maria.arnelof@spray.se</A>><BR>= <B>Cc: </B>Pianotech <<A = href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR><B>Date: </B>Thursday, 14 December 2000 12:08 PM<BR><B>Subject: = </B>"Left the building"<BR><BR></DIV></FONT> <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></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>