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[nedam]

I was looking for some tagging options and ran across a post that reminded me of one large failing of any type of text based communications. It is impossible to read something and, with any clarity, perceive the author's "tone". One person may read "Have you looked at the menu?" as informative and another may read it as spiteful.   In this post rick.ca spent a great deal of time helping someone and in the end that someone didn't like his "tone" and stopped his participation in the thread. He (incorrectly in my view) read rick.ca's responses as defensive or angry and cut off something that would likely have been beneficial. I would urge someone who is asking for help (and time spent) to not try to judge the tone of someone's response and instead judge how helpful the response is.

I would also like to thank all of the mavens on this thread for their time and effort helping all of us who need it. Thanks!


Nedam

[nwboater]

I think good manners go a long way in normal life and are just as important in forums. Always showing respect for others and treating them kindly is a worthwhile way to be. Then there is never any question in the receivers mind what the intent is, the real message gets through, and hopefully everybody stays happy.

Rod

[JimH]

You're both good people.  Thanks very much for helping set standards here.

[rick.ca]

Thanks, Nedam. It is difficult to know how to respond to an angry, negative or sarcastic post. I'm sure some would say the only appropriate response is to ignore it. If I have something constructive to say, however, I prefer just to say it. I believe this is respectful because it implicitly acknowledges the poster is not the person their negative post might suggest, and they have the choice to respond in a positive manner. Even if that doesn't have the effect I would prefer, I can still be satisfied my response might have been helpful to someone else reading the topic.