Hello Mr. Camara: With all due respect, I would like to raise a quiet voice of objection to the tone of the message you sent. This message, in my personal opinion, has dictatorial undertones to it. The "take it or leave it because I am the boss" type attitude that seemed to be one of the underlying messages in your email is what I am talking about. This has always been the predominant attitude of Gambian managers. When one compares this attitude to how bosses and community leaders interact with their underlings in other countries, we then begin to get a little insight as to why our countries are so "effed" up. Essa was a bit quick to pull out his heavy guns when he called F Jahumpa a bastard child. The use of swear words is definitely not to be tolerated anywhere. However, the drastic measure of completely banning "flaming" is a dictatorial decree that takes the rules of the Gambia_L too far. People are flamed every single day on this list, and, to be honest, they almost always deserve this treatment. Completely banning certain forms of this tactic would be taking away from the flavor of our Bantaba, and I surely don't think that you would want to be remembered for being the manager that banished the most people from the L. This message is not meant to undermine your authority in any way whatsoever. In fact, I have nothing but respect for the list managers and yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that you are an excellent group of managers. However, a leader/manager should be extremely judicious in his/her ways. In other words, think, think and think again before sending a message like the above to hundreds of your fellow countrymen, especially when one considers the fact that Gambians at home are dealing with a dictator. Interact with us like equals, and you might be surpassed by the outcome of this strategy. On a final note, I am certain that this piece of mail might not be looked upon kindly by many people. But, hopefully, some will see a germ of truth in my words. Have a nice weekend, everyone ! :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------