TR> I would prefer no response if two people find that they can't 
ommunicate
 TR> without getting angry and writing hate-mail. That seems to be the adult
 TR> thing to do and not ruin the echo for other people who have no wish
 TR> to read hate-mail. I may be mistaken, but I think that Charles
 TR> Hunter has chosen "no response" to keep peace in the echo, and I
 TR> have no problem with that. I have done the same thing with one person
 TR> for the very same reason.
 CC>                                 No, he has chosen "no response",
 CC> as you would describe it, because I did something unforgivable,
 CC> as he puts it.  He explained it to me before but it was a while
 CC> back and I think I threw away the message. If I did an unforgivable
 CC> act, what did the people who s4ent private hate messages nd called
 CC> him at his house do?  I was comparitavely mild. Peace. -!- CNet/3 !
 CC> Origin: [FidoNet] Christian \o/ Retreat * Flower Mound, TX *
Private mail and phone calls don't ruin the echo for others. Further, System
Operators don't have to pay money for the hate-mail that nobody wants to read
if the matter is handled privately and out of the echo. I don't know what
unforgivable act you could be referring to, but the results would be the
same for the good of the echo. If two people can't communicate without
hate-mail, the adult response would be to leave the other person alone and
write messages to someone else. There is certainly more than one law
enforcement officer and one citizen in the echo. For peace in the echo and
happy System Operators who pay for the messages here, I would certainly
prefer a "no response" to hate-mail. The users of the echo appreciate it
also, as they are here for messages which are on-topic for ASKACOP and have
no desire to read flame-wars and messages which belong in another echo.
I think that FIDOnet used to have an echo specifically devoted to flame-wars,
but it evidently got out of control in some way and was discontinued. In
fact, I believe the echo tag was "FLAME". I never subscribed to that echo
because I have no desire to read messages like that. Slander or libel would
be a very difficult case to get to court using this medium, but I think that
they got close to that in "FLAME". In fact, it would be almost impossible to
get a slander case to court from a FIDOnet echo, but I think they almost
managed it. The difficulty arises in trying to prove who wrote the message,
where did the message actually come from, and what their intent was.
Regardless, flame-type messages are only popular for a very few users. The
vast majority of users participate for relaxation and hobby, not for hate and
discontent.
Tom Rightmer - A Victims' Rights Advocate
... If I feel like exercise, I lie down until it passes.
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30
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