Re: AW: Fwd: CEDET sync

[David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>]

"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@xemacs.org> writes:

> Richard Stallman writes:
>
>  > We do not "ostracize" or reject people for their beliefs if they
>  > wish to contribute and will follow our rules for doing so.
>  > But we may ostracize people for persistent hostility and trying
>  > to put us unjustly in the wrong.
>
> I've already been told to stop posting to this thread, and therefore
> cannot reply.

A mailing list is not a good place to discuss matters for which the
primary correspondent would be Richard.  In particular regarding issues
you feel agitated about.  Richard has intermittent access and time, and
so it is likely that there results a more or less heated back and forth
before he even has time to address an issue.  By that time, the
atmosphere might already have moved way beyond the state where
addressing the initial posting makes much sense.  And even if his mail
queue is worked off strictly sequentially, it is likely that initial
calm-headed answers are wasted since they can't keep up with an
escalation that has already happened.  And wasting time and effort on a
route already blocked is not likely to improve anyone's mood.

And purely electronic interaction has a much higher chance of escalation
anyway since face-to-face interaction makes you realize interactively at
what point of time a point has registered, and when not.  Which makes it
much easier to figure when it is appropriate give the other time and
room to ponder and respond.

So even in private mail, it might at times be a good rule to stop and
think: would I feel this issue would also warrant picking up the phone
and calling the person about it?

If so, maybe it is not the worst idea to actually do so.  Or at least
try to think it through (which by far is not the same).  It might
readjust one's sensors about what one feels comfortable about writing or
saying.

-- 
David Kastrup