Again, I don't wish to argue the points. You have your mind made up and no amount of arguing will change that. I prefer to make up my own mind, rather than to be told. The point you are missing is that this is not about what is easy, and not about not caring. It is about doing what I feel is the most polite way to correspond. You disagree, and that's perfectly OK. Thirty years of, quote unquote expert opinions, does not make something fact. If it did, then we'd still have monarchies, because for many thousands of years people believed that was the best way to govern society. I feel it is impolite to bottom post, and i feel it is impolite to include no reference to what you are responding to at the bottom of your message. If my opinions are invalid to you, then that's OK, as I am not someone who likes to impose my own beliefs on anyone else.
I am neither uninformed nor ignorant. I understand the arguments on the links you provided. I only feel that you, in your avid attempts to defend your position, are not objectively looking at those who hold a different opinion. To me, something like pi, which is a definitive value, can not be objectively compared to this discussion. We're discussing behaviors, not mathematics. One is finite, one varies by culture, personality, and many other factors. This is why I used the monarchy example, which, though it may be an extreme, is closer to a fair comparison. Total acceptance of what people supposedly in authority say is one of the problems with many areas of society today, including politics and religion. I will not set my principles aside simply because I'm told to.
In any case, I never wanted to argue which point was better, which was why I did not respond to the points made in the message you initially sent. I just wanted an explanation, which you graciously provided. Thank you. This discussion is not helping the list, so I suggest we move on from it. I am happy to understand your opinion. One can understand something without agreeing with it.
Access Curmudgeon wrote:
Josh, somethings are not merely a matter of opinion. Classic top posting to a listserv is objectively counter productive behavior. The links I provided explain the reasons better than I could. Some people think schools should just use a value of 3 for pi, nominally because it simplifies the calculation. That is ignorant. Some people think evolution and creationism have equal scientific weight. Such positions are certainly ones right, but that doesn't mean they are uninformed. If you don't understand some of the arguments experts make, I would be glad to provide further illustration. In particular, some people assert that using assistive technology changes the equation, but that position has no merit either. I am sorry if it sounds harsh to label your preferred such habits as ignorant, but I do not know a word that would be accurate without being pejorative. Your are rejecting 30 years of usenet experience and the lucid advise of subject matter experts, all because something is slightly easier for you. Just hit command-a, delete before responding to an archived list. How hard is that? And you won't advertise to the world that either you don't know better, or worse, that you don't care.
