Wal-Mart and more

Dave Land dmland at gmail.com
Wed Feb 20 10:44:43 PST 2008


Dan,

On Feb 20, 2008, at 9:32 AM, Dan M wrote:
>
>> Behalf Of Dave Land
>>
>> Perhaps we can give each other the same gift?
>
>
> You posted to state that a significant fraction of my posts are  
> rude because they are long.

I don't recall having said any such thing. Someone else commented that
your posts were so well-researched and extensive that most people cannot
match them. I don't even recall his having said that your posts were
rude. I noted that one of the benefits of the Socrates Society Seminar
format was brevity. I am not sure that I can be held responsible for
how you connect those facts.

> I could spend 20 hours per post cutting down my thoughts to a small  
> tight post that would be under 400 words for any idea I had. (Which  
> is a 2 minute speech). I recall that way back when there was a  
> limit of about 15k in size do to the lower baud rates back then.

I can't imagine it'd take 20 hours, but yeah, it takes longer to say  
more
with fewer words.

> My longest post this year was 1650 words, 1000 of mine and 650  
> quoted words. I quoted a good deal because I've didn't want to  
> misrepresent
> the original point.

Your posts are nothing if not carefully constructed and bolstered  
against
misinterpretation.

> So, just to be clear, if I have an idea that is more than a quite  
> aside,
> you and Nick think I should find another venue or spend the hours  
> needed
> to compress the post into one worthy of publication?

I'll let Nick decide what Nick deems appropriate. The construct "you and
Nick" seems to presume that we think with one mind, which we definitely
do not. I think that Nick finds me a pompous ass from time to time, and
I return the favor as often as I can.

I find many of your posts overwhelming, but not rude. :-)

> However, since I try to be polite, I will refrain from that until I  
> can
> devote a day or two per post honing my responses down to strict, yet
> unspecified, page limitations or I am told that I am allowed to write
> long posts.

I don't know that there are any strict, yet unspecified page
limitations, Dan. This is just a bunch of acquaintances exchanging
emails about Science Fiction, politics, religion and stuff. Sometimes,
long posts are valuable (this one is already probably too long). Other
times, they're just too much, and the reader is free to ignore them or
respond at leisure.

> In short, may I please please be given explicit limits to work within,
> since following the etiquette guidelines is no longer sufficient.

Up to 600 words, typed, double-spaced, in triplicate, by registered  
mail.
All submissions become the property of Brin-L, Inc, and will not be
returned.

Dave

Ask A Silly Question Maru


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