Scotch-Irish-L Archives

Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2001-01 > 0980442206


From: Mac McCutchan <>
Subject: RE: [Scotch-Irish] Pklonghurst@aol.com
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 12:03:26 -0500


For the last several days, listers have observed (and some have participated
in) an exchange which began with an innocent query - one of the purposes of
the list, as I understand it. Responses ranged from helpful to rude and
condescending.
Paul, whose credentials as a researcher may be superior to the person who
queried, chose to characterize the query as "...that awful message full of
the kind syrupy BS that makes genealogy look bad." Edward seized the
opportunity to use some of his favorite words ("rubbish", "codswollop").
It has culminated (one supposes) in a condescending post from Edward in
which he postulates that he has taught the questioner a lesson ("...You now
know to strip what you have to the essentials....".
I would submit that the questioner has learned at least two other
lessons: That questions from someone trying to obtain information may
receive responses that are rude, sneering, insulting, condescending, and
intolerant; and that this list includes subscribers who think that
membership is restricted to trained genealogists, and who attack interlopers
unmercifully.
I hope the questioner, in her first day on the list, didn't also make it
her last. We're not all offensive. Some of us even like queries.

Mac McCutchan


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