various goodbyes--another word from our sponsor

[andrew at cee.hw.ac.uk]

Steven Maas writes:
> So maybe what we have here is early skirmishes at the front lines of a
> coming Armageddon--the Academy vs. the Regular Folks, duking it out, to
> either come to an Understanding of sorts or to engage in Total War, Take
> no Prisoners--it's up to us.

Would that that were all we had here. I think Chris got it right, we
are `varied, cranky, and impassioned' and that can get just as
unpleasant as, at best, it can be highly pleasing. As ever, it seems
to me that the problems arise because of i) careless writing ii)
careless reading iii) the urge to be clever getting the better of the
need to be wise iv) the urge not to look like a fool getting the
better of the need not to continue behaving like one v) not enough
positive feedback to counteract the negative spiral.

So, I am glad Vaska is back to contribute her knowledge, wit and
insight (I'll gladly receive the spoils from her recommended reading
list, no matter how abstruse). I am equally glad to see Chris so keen
to get on with discussing Mason & Dixon (those questions of mine and
hers were not asked asked for an exercise - we actually thought you
ight be able to help us by answering them). I am glad that Dana has
stuck with us warts and all, for my sake, hers and everyone else's. I
am glad that davemarc has remained constructive, imaginative, generous
and graceful throughout the whole sideshow (a model I wish I were
better able emulate). I am full of admiration for the on-message
postings in the last week - a fine crop of insight and entertainment.

It's a great shame that so much energy is being spent on getting
irritated with each other. It's an even bigger shame that several
people have left the list with the feeling that there is little worth
reading, let alone contributing to. And it's the biggest shame of all
that all the good things people *have* said on these sometimes
contentious subjects have been *wasted* either by being addressed to
straw men (and women) or gobbled up and spat out in an enveloping
froth of anger and venom which negates any prospect of communication,
mutual education and understanding. So, shame on us all, those who
helped it to happen and those who let it happen. Let's see if we can
get back to communicating again?


Andrew Dinn
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How do you know but ev'ry bird that cuts the airy way
Is an immense world of pleasure clos'd by your senses five