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Re: PHYS_L COURTESY



Subject: PHYS_L COURTESY

Derek Chirnside asked about my mailer. It is
Netscape Messenger. Thanks for clarifications.
I hope that from now on everybody will be
sending us ASCII text only, unless we agree
otherwise. Yes, it is the lowest common
denominator. Yes, it would be desirable to
include pictures and decent equations.
This is the ideal of course. But in my opinion, we need to exercise
enormous tolerance. I regularly see things on list that I know should not
happen - all of whaich I have done myself - like - send personal reply by
accident to the list, forget to delete unneeded bits to a mail, be unclear,
send commands to the list not the server, talk in TLA (three letter acronym)
style etc. - etc etc. So, even if a bit of non ACSII text gets though,
that's life, we just read around it. What is of interest to me is
considering the traffic, there are very few problems that emerge as end
users of the list. (Maybe it is different behind the scenes??)

And one more annoying thing. Some people love
acronyms. Not everybody recognizes them at once,
especially when an acronym pops up in the middle
of something we were not dealing with. It is
embarrassing to ask "what is it for?"; most often
one is sorry for asking. If you really like to use
an acronym (to avoid long repetitions) please
define it (when it first appears).
Ahh. Acronyms. This comment makes me wonder if I used one in my post.
(Did I use an annoying acronym Ludwik??)
This again is an ideal. But to some, a group of letters is an acronmym,
to another it can be a word. Like ASCII above. (!!) and they just slip
though. So I guess the reminder here is timely. I agree with you ("Try to
explain them") but I think we also need to *not be afraid to ask questions*,
ask for clarification etc. We can try to get over being sorry for asking.
And know that there are others who want to know as well!! In my opinion,
that is what the list is all about and I always cringe when people write a
reply to a technical question which also is critical of things not being
known by the questioner.

As a courtesy do this in every message; do not
assume that everybody has time to read carefully
all messages. One can easily miss the description
of an acronym which appeared in another message.
I write from the lower (or upper) part of this celestial globe of ours.
Some people from the US have a reputation for proliferating acronyms. I
recall one response saying that that "This was what made the US great,
having solved many communication problems". In general however every
profession has also created it's own language, sometimes leading to an inner
priesthood and inititate speak keeping the in 'in' and the out 'out'.
We have strayed off mailers as a subject. I'll finish there.

Have a nice day. I will. First day at a new job.
-Derek


Ludwik Kowalski