On Fri, 28 Jul 2000 10:37:38 -0400, Siobhan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I know one thing - this has really been a nightmare.

People get way too emotionally attached to what a few people are saying in some
Internet discussion group.

A real nightmare is when artillery shells just blew up your neighbor's house
(and this does happen somewhere in the world on a regular basis).

The nature of the Internet is that - despite the fact that some people use what
appears to be a real name, eg "John Doe", as opposed to a handle, eg "meathead",
nevertheless you can never be sure that name really corresponds to a real
person, ie "Joan Smith - 55 year old registered dietician" can actually be a 13
year old boy.   In fact, there is no way to be sure that all the other "people"
on a discussion list aren't just one person using many email addresses (perhaps
Bill Gates!).

The result is that - despite appearances - these discussions are never really
personal.   So, there is no point to having emotional reactions to something
being said.    If you imagine any particular collection of opinions, there is
someone out there who has those opinions, so the fact that they happen to be
involved in the discussion you are having is no big surprise, and should not a
cause of upset.

Over the years, I've found that such a detached attitude is crucial to enjoying
and learning from topical discussions.


--
Cheers,

Ken
[log in to unmask]