Jeri,

I also think you are a very wise lady.

When I first joined the Mudcat, another person who I consider very wise, Jon Freeman, gave me an opportunity to understand how different (and even special), communicating over the internet is as opposed to other forms of communication.

I had made a remark, in all innocence, about wanting to communicate with people from non-English speaking countries because I had Celtic burnout. I was speaking musically, but Jon very kindly pointed out that some Celtic people who's first language in not English might misunderstand, and think I was speaking linguistically. I apologized immediately to anyone who might possibly have been offended. Not because I felt I had done anything wrong, but because I want to make every effort I can to unnecessarily avoid giving offense.

I think there is a greater chance of being misunderstood when communicating in this medium than perhaps with any other. I have found, however, that if we spend some time thinking carefully about what to post before we actually do it, we can drastically reduce the amount of animosity that, quite frankly, I think does serious damage to the Mudcat. I think the disturbing events of a couple of months ago when one of our members was forced to go underground, are a good illustration of this point.

So, I'm coming out in the open and asking people to keep in mind, when we post, that we are not speaking to other people in our own living room. We are speaking to large numbers of people, all over the world, many of whom have different cultures, beliefs, and assumptions and ways of comunicating than we have. It's a big responsibility, but, in my opinion, the rewards are great.

Warmest regards to all of you,

Carol