Hi Computer geeks are famously bad at dealing with people. Often you have to choose between getting someone good at the work or getting someone that can be friendly about it. So far we have been mostly lucky in getting people that are capable of both.
That is not to excuse rudeness as everyone 'should' try to be at least reasonable and there is no reason we should tolerate any rudeness. Often rude people are unwittingly selfish, self-centred or just really inconsiderate of other people due to being focused on their area of expertise. They are to be pitied for their lack of awareness and lack of ability rather than condemned for it. Guiding them might sometimes help but really we just have to choose to deal with people like that or miss out on the good stuff they can contribute. Good luck and regards from Tom :) ________________________________ From: David Nelson <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, 13 January, 2011 5:26:48 Subject: Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Re: Incorrect Terminology for Installing on a Mac Hi Hal, :-) Sorry, Hal, I don't agree with you. I only invited Larry in the friendliest way to get involved in remedying shortcomings with regard to Mac info in LibreOffice documentation. Larry replied, "Whenever I notice something that is incorrect I will let you know. The real question is do you want Mac users to use LibreOffice? If so, you will provide correct documentation. I get real tired, smiley or no smiley of being told to do it myself when making suggestions to open source projects." Personally, I found the tone, and the manner of interpreting what I actually said, to be less than gracious, friendly and recognizing of the time and work I and others contribute to providing Open Source to the world. I am not there to be spoken to harshly by Larry or anyone else. I, myself, always strive to be courteous and friendly to people. BTW, I am not the first to have said something similar to Larry in recent threads on TDF lists. So, Larry, might I invite you to perhaps adjust the *tone* of your communications a little bit. You may find things like smilies to be superfluous, but little touches like that, plus old-fashioned terms and phrases like "Please, could you consider..." and "Thank you for your work..." are like a lubricating oil that makes human relations take place in a more-gracious and friendlier manner. ;-) The point I made was a perfectly valid one: the best way to ensure constant improvement in Open Source is to get in there and help out. At the very least, when "making suggestions", it would be good to make them in a tone that sounds a bit less grumpy and unpleasant. ;-) So, to tell you again: sorry, Hal, I do not agree with you. But I'm not getting into an argument about this, so I will allow you and/or others the satisfaction of having the last word on the subject. ;-) I'm sure you'll have a good time at my expense! :-D David Nelson -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to [email protected] List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/documentation/ *** All posts to this list are publicly archived for eternity *** -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to [email protected] List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/documentation/ *** All posts to this list are publicly archived for eternity ***
