At 07:20 PM 6/23/01 +0200 J. van Baardwijk wrote:
>I just talked to Charlie on ICQ. He told me he had unsubscribed from Brin-L
>a few hours ago... :(
>
>Apparently he was so fed up with how things were going on this list that he
>decided he had better things to do with his time. More particularly, John
>Giorgis had a lot (if not everything!) to do with Charlie leaving. :(
I don't understand how you expect me to react to this.
Obviously, it is very unfortunate whenever a list member leaves. Its
doubly unfortunate when that list member was an active participant in a
discussion that I was finding most interesting. Still, what am I supposed
to do?
I've been a list member since for five years now. I am sure that Charlie
knows my opinions by now, and knows that I do not back away from calling
things like I see it. Likewise, I don't complain too much or too loudly
whenever I get laid into by other listmembers or even David Brin himself
for my views. I'd like to think that I've affected other people's opinions
over the years, as surely as I know that you all have definitely played a
large part in my own intellectual development.
Anyways, it would be nice to know what finally drove him over the edge.
He pretty much announced that he was putting me in his kill file without
warning, and without ever giving me a chance to respond to anything or to
clear up misunderstandings in the discussion that was ongoing. He
certainly never laid any specific charges or examples at my feet describing
how he felt I was acting inappropriately. And so yes, he's gone, but I
don't really understand why.
Based on the circumstances, I guess there are some clues..... but if he
can't seem to handle
a) someone vigorously disagreeing with his views or
b) someone occasionally misunderstanding and misrepresenting his opinions,
c) or both
....then, he was invariably going to be withdrawing from the intellectual
arena sooner or later anyways. And if Charlie left for a reason other
than a, b, or c listed above - I have absolutly not the first inkling as to
what that was. Of course, Charlie isn't taking mail from me any more, so
I can neither ask him, nor apologize.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
We are products of the same history, reaching from Jerusalem and
Athens to Warsaw and Washington. We share more than an alliance.
We share a civilization. - George W. Bush, Warsaw, 06/15/01
