In article , Iain M Churches
wrote:

"Jim Lesurf" wrote in message
...
As you know, personally I prefer usenet, the web, etc. This does mean
at times I get abuse for saying something which someone else finds
objectionable. However the point is that *they may be right* when they
say I am in error about something - even when they point it out in an
unpleasant way. Refusing to read their comments would prevent me from
learning.


Yes. I am sure you are right, Jim, but I wonder what you, or others
could possibly learn when friend Phil A likened you facial features to
reproductive and excretive organs? :-))) or should the smiley be :-((( ?

TBH My personal view is that when people become personally abusive or
patronising or arrogant they give me the feeling that they are short of
more relevant lines of argument. I actually tend to find this dissapointing
as a more reasoned response might be a sign that they do, indeed, have
something 'new' (from my POV) to offer.

Getting abuse can be irritating, but I suspect that the main effect is that
this undermines the confidence others have in what the abuser is asserting.
Hence it can have some value in terms of education. Although of course
there is no guarantee that when someone becomes abusive that their original
points were wrong. This is why it can be worth patiently trying to
disentangle claims and arguments from such obnoxious behaviour.

If nothing else, it gives a chance for third parties to read the discussion
and form their own views. This may help undermine or call into question
incorrect or unfounded ideas even if it produces no new ideas as such.

Without the above, we get the situation where almost any twaddle, once
published with determination, may become accepted. Withdrawing behind
protecting walls and leaving this to others does not seem to me to be the
best course.


You probably learned as much from this as others of us did from an
evaluation of an amplifier from a member of this group who we can be
pretty sure has not even seen let alone heard the amp in question. This
was quite an achievement, more than anything magazine reviewers can
offer:-))

Well, many of the 'reviews' I have read might well have been more accurate
if the 'reviewer' had never seen or listened to the product. :-)

Indeed, I have encountered cases where a reviewer made an inaccurate or
misleading measurement and then proceeded to pontificate on the 'sound' or
performance in ways which could not have been the case in reality.

Slainte,

Jim

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