Futurework is a "big tent." Many views. Like meeting with a group of colleagues some will annoy and some will enlighten and some will be neutral.
But there is a possibility for new learning. arthur -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Spencer Sent: Friday, June 22, 2007 3:13 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Futurework] [META] Re: Bill Gates,Rockefellers & Africa's biopiracy Hello all -- I dropped off the FutureWork list a couple of years ago, not only because Harry was trolling [1] the list, trying to provoke opportunities for his condescending barbs and his free-market-cures-all polemics but as well because all the other bright folks on the list were politely responding to him as if his posts were mature and sensible contributions and his jibes and provocations were unintentional oversights. I quite missed the dialog so now I've subscribed again and, oh dear, oh dear, what do I find? That Harry is still trolling for arguments, intentionally provoking them and pointlessly prolonging them. It's a bit reassuring that others are no longer tolerating his provocations with good grace in the interest of decorum. On the other hand, allowing the list discourse to degenerate into the kind of shouting match that makes Harry feel righteous and important is not a big win, either. I would hesitate to suggest that the list owner(s) bar Harry from the list but perhaps it would be constructive to simply ignore all of his posts that are devoid of redeeming value or which serve chiefly as a launching platform for his belligerent rhetoric. Harry's skill is an ability to be so irritating that one feels compelled to respond. Suppressing that compulsion might improve the FW conversation. - Mike -------------------------- /| /| | | ||__|| | Please | / O O\__ do not feed | / \ the troll. | / \ \ | / _ \ \ ---------------------- / |\____\ \ || / | | | |\____/ || / \|_|_|/ | __|| / / \ |____| || / | | /| | --| | | |// |____ --| * _ | |_|_|_| | \-/ *-- _--\ _ \ // | / _ \\ _ // | / * / \_ /- | - | | * ___ c_c_c_C/ \C_c_c_c____________ [1] On the off chance that you haven't encountered the term "troll" in a net context, here's a snippet from Wikipedia : In Internet terminology, a troll is someone who intentionally posts derogatory or otherwise inflammatory messages about sensitive topics in an established online community such as an online discussion forum to bait users into responding. They may also plant images and data...in order to cause confrontation. [...] The contemporary use of the term first appeared on Usenet groups in the late 1980s. It is widely thought to be a truncation of the phrase "trolling for suckers", itself derived from the sport fishing technique of trolling. -- Michael Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada .~. /V\ [EMAIL PROTECTED] /( )\ http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/ ^^-^^ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list Futurework@fes.uwaterloo.ca http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list Futurework@fes.uwaterloo.ca http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework