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Listmembers, This is a (retarded) reaction on the discussion about what one should be allowed to write to the listserv and what should not. One has to find a way just between the Scylla of destroying open communicaton and creating a totalitarian atmosphere in which usefull information is hold back from fear of being to critical, and the Charybdis of hurting people unnecessarely by being too permissive to the criticists. To manage this one has to keep to two principles: Whatever one's feelings are, towards the list as a whole or to a part of its members or just to one person, it is always permitted to express them in words. Of course situations can happen in which it mightn't be the most sensible thing to do, but that can be no reason for a ban. It must be advised not to use language which is more unparliamantary than one needs, to be clear enough. The second principle is for the recipient of the message and is expressed in the Dutch saying "wie de schoen past trekke hem aan" which according to my dictionary, exists in English too as "if the shoe fits, wear it." The impossibility to prevent being the object of criticism, be it apopriate or not, is the price we pay for living in a free society and that price is not to high, especially not if we keep this second principle in mind. Just as a crticist can be unnecessarily hurting by using agressive language, so can the criticised be unnecesarily terrorizing by forming a group for doing the defence on an "all against one" basis. A group should never turn against one person if that person is not a real threat to that group. Ida Kamphuis -------------------------------------------------------------- Vriendelijke Groeten / Kind regards, Ida Kamphuis mailto: [log in to unmask]