Re: Attempts to ban constructive criticism...

[nathan@parka.winternet.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <4s3tph$23@agate.xara.net>, Richard <rtk@scotborders.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <4s3c0s$a3p@blackice.winternet.com>, nathan@parka.winternet.com (Nathan Mates) says:
>>Grades in school are the same way-- a 'F' or a 'C' tells you that you
>>are not perfect, and need to do better. Eventually in their life (and
>>afterlife), people _will_ be criticized, people _will_ have to accept
>>it, and grow from it. You 're trying to deny this basic fact.

>So we can expect a polite reply from you, then? Are you a teacher?

   You do not need to be a teacher to tell someone that things are
misspelled, that their quoting style needs work, or that Shakespeare
in the original Klingon makes more sense than their post. For the
record, I have no teaching certificate, but then again, the internet
is not licensed, unionized, or anything else, so I'm free to say what
I want.


>>   Further, except when they're very offensively clueless from the
>>start, I don't do a line length flame, spelling flame, grammar flame,
>>or .sig flame without helping them as well. That is, I help them at
>>the same time I educate them. Nobody's perfect, but we can strive
>>for excellence, not merely feeling good.

>Of course. But some of us accept that, without forcing it out in front
>of other users. Most intelligent people can _overlook_ errors and
>interpret what the original meaning was.

   To butcher the original, look at it this way:

   If you overlook someone's mistakes, he'll most likely do them
again.  If you teach them not to do it, they'll do it right for a
lifetime.

[Re. my .sig]
>PS - Is this biblical piracy? Or is the Bible PD now...

   King James (Authorized) Version, Revised Standard Version (RSV),
Living Bible, Darby, and a bunch more are PD. [Even the ultra-lenient
modern Berne convention on copyrights is author(s) lifetime + 50
years, and these translations have been available for a real long
time.]

   More modern translations such as the New International Version
(NIV) and New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) are copyrighted, but
allow short quoting. [NIV's allows it as long as the quoted material
is no more than 25% of the total piece.]

   For a set of Bible translations available on the WWW, drop by
http://www.gospelcom.net/bible (also linked in off my home page)

Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~nathan/      <*>
# And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the
# Kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in
# parables" Mark 4:11, NRSV