I appreciate Dave Meadows' pointing me to an online source for etiquette. As
time allows I will happily look into his suggestion. I must, however,
apologize -- I did not intend to indicate that a low circulation discounts a
publication. I only intended to suggest that a low circulation publication
could hardly be considered open dissemination ensuring exposure. But, I
suspect that he knows what was intended.
 
David goes on to mention legal matters -- libel -- slander -- and all sorts
of similar stuff. I have repeatedly insisted that my concern is broader and
has to do with fair play, the way we treat others, and the potential for all
of us to be "filtered" simply because others don't like our message, the way
we present it, or our attitude. I am not an attorney and I refuse to embark
on a discussion cloaked in minutiae and regaled in legalism.
 
Perhaps it does come down to a "judgement call," but judgements are always
made up of any number of factors and experiences. I hope that our discussions
will expand all of our experiences so that in the future we may find
different ways of dealing with individuals such as Mr. Johnson. I hope that
by presenting some of the problems inherent in the logic used to "filter" Mr.
Johnson we may be able, in the future, to act, rather than merely reacting.
 
I continue to suggest that the more responsible approach to dealing with
troubling individuals, or disagreeable expressions, is to simply delete their
messages. Why have we become so impatient with the rest of the world that we
are unable to simply turn our back on irritations -- why this urge to strike
out? Just delete the message if you have no interest in it, or the messenger.
 
David also urges us to return to archaeology -- a suggestion that I am in
favor of since I am a professional archaeologist. But, I must again wonder
how we can so easily seperate our profession from any sense of fair play,
free expression, and tolerance.
 
Best,
 
Mike Trinkley
Chicora Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 8664
Columbia, SC  29202-8664
803/787-6910
E-mail: [log in to unmask]