<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Well about this:

"So as Thumper's mother might advise.  Let us be able to speak freely, and
if the Post offends you remember the DELETE button, and choose to say
nothing at all.  Isn't this the spirit of the First Amendment after all"

I have to say I'm  the last person who'd ever want to argue with Thumper's
mother! ;-)  But I do want to clarify that neither I -- nor anyone else
whose posts I've read -- has EVER said we shouldn't speak freely.  I would
never advocate such a thing at all! I don't think anyone here was attacking
the First Amendment rights of celiacs or anyone else.  All I -- and at least
as many people as Vance quoted supporting his views -- said was that we
should speak *ACCURATELY* !  I wasn't talking about "offending" anyone
either.  I was talking about inadvertently misleading others through poorly
sourced posts.

When we're talking about health, misinformation is of far greater concern
than possibly offending someone, and since we're talking primarily about
diet, it should be difficult to take offense at facts and opinions about
food.  It's not a matter of hitting the "delete" key, either; but rather a
matter of having the knowledge and experience to know what information is
worth pursuing further and what information is worth disregarding
completely.  Unless the information is properly identified as being opinion,
sourced fact or experience, how is anyone to know what to do with it?

And I'm sorry Mr. Crawley, but I hardly think asking for some notation on
the source of the information being shared on a list qualifies as a "threat
of intimidation from other list members!"  Allow me to quote directly from
the Welcoming Message those joining this list receive upon subscribing ( see
http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/welcome.html#listowners for entire
message):

"One of the main benefits of this list is that celiacs can share their
knowledge on maintaining GF diets. On the other hand, spreading information
which is not well-founded can cause confusion and distress amongst our
members. Therefore, before making such a post, please be sure that you
document your sources! Don't make a claim that an item is, or is not, gluten
free until you can back it up. When you do post it for the group to read,
please include the reasons, including the phone number/address, the date you
received the information, and if possible the name of the person you
contacted."

So -- with complete deference to Mr. Crawley, Vance, Thumper's mother and
American free speech -- I wholeheartedly concur -- Keep those posts coming!
But take a moment to properly document those posts so others can get the
most use out of it and we can truly be a valuable resource for everyone in
the celiac community.

Terri

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A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to
take care of his tools. -Spanish proverb