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<< Part of being a thinking person is to read and listen and then to
realize what we don't know, what we need to know, and then to ask
questions to fill in some of those knowledge gaps. >>

Yes. People should read and listen andthen think, and figure out what's
being said.

-=-If we don't, and
we instead jump to conclusions, especially when those conclusions
imply negativity or some kind of bad behavior on the part of the
person communicating, then we are only showing our own ignorance of
the limitations of language, especially in this specific written
language medium.-=-

Assuming that people here are not thinking, and are attacking, must have just
been from not carefully reading the tone of the forum, the description, and
maybe from not reading for a while before jumping in.

I've used this analogy before, but it's apt. If you go to a party, it's
customary, if you're arriving when it's already in swing, to look around a
bit before jumping in and telling stories and rearranging the food table. F
irst you watch and see what's already happening, and get the feel for the
tone of the crowd.

On an e-mail list it's even harder, because you can't see eyes and facial
expressions, but you can read for a few days and see how the "party" is going.

Sandra