[OT rude or not, a different opinion] -Re: Beta 8.10 released

[Thorny]

On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:23:57 +0100, Ignazio Palmisano wrote:

> I have to disagree with this argument: no one knows in detail what's in
> somebody's else head, and it's not up to the listener to ask for
> clarifications for every communication, it's up to the speaker to try to
> convey as much information as possible, so that the meaning of what's
> said is as unambiguous as possible. Wherever there is a hole in the
> communication, there is the possibility of misunderstanding, and what
> people do is fill up the holes with what *seems* most appropriate. As
> many have already said, email is a poor way to express feelings
> accompanying words, unless one tries really hard, which usually means
> very long emails.
> 
> 
I generally agree with what you said for normal communication. However, in
a place where people come to help and be helped, I think it is incumbent
on the helper (who has chosen that role, no one is forced to respond) to
make a considerable effort to understand and support a poster who might
have trouble expressing any part of the communication. In theory, those
with the best command of the language could be in a position to better
comprehend the nuances of that language and be aware of what might be
attributable to their own emotions . Specifically, this list is about an
operating system that is part of a group that desires to be welcoming and
supportive. I think I even read that somewhere in a mission statement
about Ubuntu but I don't have any link to cite. I interpret that as 'bend
over backward'(make the effort) to try and help, spend the time writing
those long emails and endeavor to make people feel welcome. YMMV. I can
do it for a while, but I too will quit replying to someone who, over time,
continues to be rude or trolls. 

I know your email wasn't threaded to my reply but you and I probably
approach things differently, even in person (meatspace) I would tend to
ask if someone is meaning to be rude or if I misunderstood what they said.
Of course, in meatspace, things do tend to play out a bit differently than
cyberspace. Posters who think they haven't been treated fairly tend to
just disappear and we may not get another chance to help them with Kubuntu.