Chet,

>And the fact that Bob turned around and didn't put a stop to it
>immediately sure doesn't make me feel any better either.

For the record, I DID put a stop to it as soon as I discovered it, even
staying up until 5am with my e-mails.  I had unfortunately been away from
my e-mail for the weekend while I was enmeshed in some of my preparations
for the upcoming M2M publishing (back to teaching myself how to be a
computer programmer again to deal with the Membership
name/address/accounting database, I didn't want to waste time on e-mail).
 I completed a very useful program late Sunday night (after having gotten
only 3.5 hrs sleep the night before), and fortunately chose to check my
Inbox after midnight  instead of going to bed, which I almost did.  I'm
very sorry (and flattered) about the reactions you and Ellen had, and
even though I took the joke in stride on vegraw, I want you and any other
dupees to know that I had no intentional role in perpetrating this hoax.
I did see the humor in it, but also immediately recognized its potential
for harm, so I made sure to dispel the rumors as quickly as I could.

>So self-indulgent and thoughtless on the parts of people whose
>sensitivities I had some respect for... sigh...

I agree, but I think most people who know Doug Schwartz' sense of humor
and follow vegraw on a daily basis would have easily seen through the
ruse.  Even so, Doug should have realized that many people drop in and
out of vegraw and would have missed the earlier posting by Doug and me
that would have provided the clue to the hoax.  The potential for harm
was just too great to risk for a little humor.  The reason I didn't get
up on a soapbox about how tasteless the joke was and instead joked around
in response was because (a) I understood the spirit in which it was
intended, misguided as it as, and (b) whatever damage was done was
already water over the dam.  I felt that the most important thing for me
to do was to just get back on vegraw and make sure everyone knew it
wasn't true.  Which is what I did.

In spite of the mistake he made, Doug is a fine fellow, and deserves to
be forgiven.
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

My best to you and Ellen.

Bob Avery ([log in to unmask])