fedora-list Digest, Vol 2, Issue 17

[Alexandre Oliva]

On Apr  2, 2004, Brian Bober <netdemonz at yahoo.com> wrote:

>> Alexander certainly isn't ignorant.  

> I can guarantee that I am not ignorant either.  Yet he questioned
> whether I am ignorant or not.

Consider that Alexander Dalloz is probably not a native speaker.  Even
though he seems to do a good job at speaking English, he might have
chosen a word that didn't quite mean what he meant to say.

Take into account that `ignorant' isn't necessarily offensive.  One of
the meanings of this word, given by the Webster dictionary, is
`uninformed'.  Obviously, since you've been posting questions about
test releases in a list meant for discussion about stable releases,
you are (or were :-) ignorant, at least in this regard.

He's been trying to inform you.  Maybe even without having realized
you were the same person to whom he'd sent earlier messages in the
same day, since he does a lot of it to a lot of newcomers.

Now consider that, instead of `Are you just ignorant?', he'd phrased
the question like this: `Did you just not know that this list is for
stable releases only?'  Would you find that offensive?  If not, just
pretend he did so (even if he didn't!  Give him the benefit of the
doubt) and let's move on.  Perhaps we should create a fedora-flames
for this kind of discussion? :-) :-)

>> In my opinion he adds more value than anyone else, with his
>> knowledge, helpfullness and his contant battle to try and encourage
>> netiquette.

Seconded.

-- 
Alexandre Oliva             http://www.ic.unicamp.br/~oliva/
Red Hat Compiler Engineer   aoliva@{redhat.com, gcc.gnu.org}
Free Software Evangelist  oliva@{lsd.ic.unicamp.br, gnu.org}