Dear Friends: The following is an exchange between a subscriber to your list, a Mr. David C. Crane, and myself, concerning a slight format problem my eMail program. My wife, Sheila Rider (a native of Lancaster, FYI) had posted an inquiry to the list concerning Ruth W. Drinkle's book ARCHITECTURE AND ARTS and any other similiar books, pamphlets, brochures, etc., that she could send to some newly-discovered cousins in Alsace, France, describing Ohio, Fairfield County, Berne Township -- in general, the area Sheila's Alsatian ancestors moved to in the US. We use Microsoft Outlook Express, and we seem to have trouble getting the program to consistently send out what we want sent out in plain text format. Usually we can get it to work. Inadvertently my wife's message got sent out in HTML format. Mr. Crane found it necessary to send my wife this message: >Please do not send attachments to a mailing list. Your mailer >(probably MS Explorer) is misconfigured. I know that's the way >Bill Gates did it, but it is none-the-less wrong. > >This attachment is nothing more than the same file as your message, >except it is in HTML format and it clutters up the disk space of >EVERY person on the mailing list. My wife was extremely upset at Mr. Crane's patronizing, condescending attitude, but being more diplomatic than I am, she sent Mr. Crane this message: >I did not intentionally send an attachment to the mailing list. I have >attempted to correct the problem. If this message is still not in the >correct format, I suggest that you not open any messages from > pwilson@methodist.edu in the future. I, however, being much LESS diplomatic, and seeing how upset my wife was, sent the following: >I read the message you sent to my wife concerning the conversion of her >original message into an HTML-based attachment. >> >I will set aside for the moment the issue of why you would want to be rude >to a total stranger, particularly one who shares at least one of your >interests. > >If the configuration of our copy of Microsoft Outlook Express is the >problem, I would appreciate your input on how to configure the program so >that the default value for writing for new messages is plain text, not HTML. > >Try offering a constructive solution before you lash out. To paraphrase >Adlai Stevenson's eulogy of Eleanor Roosevelt, "I would rather light a >candle than flame into the darkness." To which Mr. Crane found it necessary to reply: >Rude? It's you who are rude, fellow. There was nothing rude in my >note. If you can't read, get off the internet. > >(In case you miss the point, THAT was a rude sentence). > >As for offering a "constructive solution", I did so. I said that MS >products are misconfigured at the factory. But I'll be damned if >I'm going to use one of those pieces of shit just so I can explain >to neophytes how to use them. >Yes, two rude sentences. You deserved them both. Did I? Perhaps I am unfamiliar with the latest Internet ettiquette, but then, I've only been on-line now for about a year. Why am I sharing all this with a group of total strangers? I suppose because in my own Internet-based research I have had such wonderful success sharing my results with generous, giving, supportive colleagues, that when I encounter attitudes such as Mr. Crane's I get disheartened. I have had disagreements with eMail correspondents; I have even been called on the carpet for serious errors of judgement concerning material displayed on my website. Corrections have invariably been suggested with grace, tact, and good humor, and I have responded in kind. But we'll get nowhere in this world if something like this goes unchalleneged. I'm sorry Mr. Crane detests Bill Gates so much (boy, he IS an easy target, though, isn't he?), but I don't need to share those bad vibes first thing on a Saturday morning. Paul F. Wilson Fayetteville, NC