Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Are you saying that reading rudeness on the LUG caused you to take a railroad trip from NY to LA? Amazing! SthRosner@aol.com wrote: > > In a message dated 3/5/02 10:24:36 PM Eastern Standard Time, > kiklaas@iinet.net.au writes: > > > I thought photographers were "happy" people - bad genralisation perhaps, > > I am new to this thread and I am gobsmacked at the amount of in-house > > squabbling that goes on - I would expect this in an all girls high school > > (do not see too many females writing into this thread) - GOSH, I thought > > this was meant to be an informative, fun, sharing experience. > > > > I would hate to see what would happen if all came face to face - talk > > about egos. > > My guess is if we all came face-to-face, it wouldn't happen. > > A couple of weeks ago I posted a sharp reaction to what I read as some > extremely rude, uncivil messages. I unsubscribed. In the interim, I took a > rail trip from Albany, New York to Los Angeles and return (6,150 miles = > almost 10,000 km!). A lovely trip, a little cocoon of space and time without > intrusions, no television, no telephones, leisure to read, photograph (I > inaugurated my new 50 year-old Leica IIf with 50/3,5 Elmar and a 25/4 > Voigtlander/Cosina Skopar) and contemplate. Also completely rested my delete > finger. > > I thought of some of the discussions which have recently once again hit the > LUG and of how often they deteriorate into pure personality clashes. And it > occured to me that this phenomenon may well be attributable to our electronic > medium. Were we face-to-face, we would, I suggest, never never speak to one > another as we seem to feel free to write to one another. It would become an > intolerably uncomfortable world. And if two people actually did so in public, > that is in a public social setting, others would simply walk away and shun > them - it would be too uncomfortable. And it might well lead to blows. This > medium is an insulator that disconnects us from the consequences of our > rudeness. > > There is another aspect to this: I believe that there have been posts here > that were intended as jokes or puns but that have been read seriously and > therefore been taken as provocations. Sharp response spirals into sharper > counter-response. When we are face-to-face with someone, body language, > facial expressions and all kinds of other unspoken "language" can convey that > we do not mean seriously the words we speak, that in fact we sometimes mean > the opposite. And the "listener" understands that unspoken "language" as it > is intended to be conveyed. The internet deprives us of that possibility. > > I have a feeling that if we all bear this in mind, if when we are writing a > criticism of someone else's post we think of what and how we would express > ourselves if we were sitting with that person and a couple of others - say > Papa Ted Grant and Momma Tina Manley - having coffee at Starbucks!! - and if > we remain cognisant of the fact that the other person can't see our > expression or hear the different tone of voice, this would be a much > pleasanter place. > > We can still disagree as strenuously as we always have and yet keep our > disagreements and discourse from becoming so hostile that the LUG becomes far > less pleasant than it can and should be. > > My $.02. > > Best to all, Seth LaK 9 > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html