<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>On Dec 24, 2011, at 6:47 PM, Murray Campbell wrote:</div><br><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: 'Latin Modern Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; ">It's too late to avoid success at all costs but please don't banish our<br>precious pedantry!<br><br>Scare on!</span></blockquote><br></div><div>Please don't misunderstand, I have absolutely no problems at all with people arguing voraciously and pedantically over ideas, as long as they are doing so respectfully, impersonally, politely and open-mindedly. In fact, like you I welcome such discourse, and the fact that this list provides such a nice environment for it is part of the reason why I like it so much. :-) (See, for example, the argument that I started a few days ago over whether some/many belong in Alternative a few days ago.)</div><div><br></div><div>Having said that, there is no small difference between</div><div><br></div><div>"Hey everyone! I have been thinking about something for a while, and I have an idea with which many of you will most likely strongly disagree. Here it is, and I welcome your feedback on it!"</div><div><br></div><div>and</div><div><br></div><div>"You all have long been maintaining a cognitive dissonance that in some cases turns into plain hypocrisy, and the only reason I hadn't complained about it until now was because I have been waiting for unmistakable evidence, a smoking gun, a red hand so caught that you cannot explain away. Here it is. Now people, could you please make up your mind already? It has been more than 13 years."</div><div><br></div><div>The former invites open discussion in a friendly and positive environment, whereas the latter at best turns people off from wanting to respond positively, and at worst provokes angry responses that further poison the well.</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div>Greg</div></body></html>