Posted by Peter H on October 21, 2005 at 17:26:37 from 86.130.138.61 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Finish on Scarab, ballast and turning turtle posted by Jock on October 21, 2005 at 16:00:45:
John wasn't trying to drown you, just to get you through a week's sailing lessons in one day
That still doesn't explain why John felt he had to include me at all in his 'fantasies'. Again - a personal view: I have always regarded it as an unwritten rule (out of courtesy) that you should not make wild speculations or risky or flippant jokes or anything like that, about other Tarboarders. It is, to use an old-time phrase, 'taking a liberty'. We don't know each other, and as I said after the 'Peter H and a keyboard' business, none of us knows what each others' hidden sensitivities may be. In a sense, you are firing an arrow into the air, blindly, not caring where and how it falls. How can John be sure that a relative or friend of mine has not drowned in a sailing accident?
Can we not post our views, and agree and disagree, while at the same respecting each other's basic integrity and privacy? I have seen other chat sites fold up because this respect was absent. Speculation about the characters of the other board users always leads to problems, and often kerfuffles. It is a complete no-no, as far as I am concerned (as is 'ganging up').
By the way, if anyone wants an exemplar - it's our own Ed Kiser. I make no speculation as to what he is like off the board, but on Tarboard he is the soul of courtesy and consideration. In a way, he is the heart and soul of Tarboard, and he is one of the reasons I have stuck with it.