Decorum on the List

["Roger Beamon" <beamon@primenet.com>]

On 23 Jul 97,  Gerard Captijn wrote:

<snip>

> Please keep in mind that what's insulting or not, is very much culturally
> determined. What is a normal way of expressing oneself in the US could
> well be close to an insult in France. What's OK in Germany could be
> insulting in the UK. A situation with many different nationalities on a
> forum like the LUG should be managed intelligently to avoid discussions
> like the above. 

Culturally AND language determined. We, whose mother tongue is English, 
must constantly be aware that though the default language on the INTERNET 
is English, user's abilities in it are varied. Nuances and subtleties in 
a language only come with real ability in the language, and that takes 
time and great effort.

>I am certain that the discussion around our friend Oddvik was more 
related to the way he said things than to what he specifically said.

Here I disagree. I paid close attention to the content of his offerings. 
When the agenda was obvious, I retaliated. Love your contraction of his 
name, though. Hope it's considered pc. (politically correct, not personal 
computer. Our slang and colloquialisms must be a nightmare for non-native 
English speakers. Then again, some of the German slang I've learned is 
puzzling to me.
- --
Roger Beamon  
       Naturalist & Photographer
       Leica Historical Society Of America
       mailto:beamon@primenet.com
          
          Thought for the day:
      Communist (n): one who has given up all hope
      of becoming a Capitalist.