I know I'm repeating some of what others have said, but, here goes, anyway. I see a distinction between putting a person's name in a thread title when we are speaking positively (birthday, illness, radio show, new recording, etc.) & when we are speaking negatively (like now!!!). Most of the time, I think threads should be of general interest, not aimed at individuals, pro or con. If we want to speak mostly to one person, we have resources for that--personal Mudcat message &, for some, email, ICQ, etc. Let's think what ought to be public & what is better expressed privately or not at all. Art/Rick (I think) raised a good point that we sometimes post things that we would never say to a person's face. Anonymity should never be an excuse for unkindness. As a minimum,it may very well backfire on the speaker. Many of us have been meeting each other in person or have plans to do so in the next few months. Wouldn't you rather someone thought, "Gee, it's nice to meet him/her!" rather than "Oh, that's the jerk who said _____!"? Unkindness impacts the perpetrator as well as the recipient; it doesn't get us where we want to be. A quote which is meaningful to me (w/ slight editing, from the Bible--James 1:19a-20): "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for anger does not bring about righteous life." We have many types here at Mudcat; it makes our community rich. Many have strong beliefs & passionate personalities. It is possible to express them without personal attacks on individuals. I think we need to work at both being self-regulating & giving each other the benefit of the doubt when our feelings are hurt (as they sometimes will be). Censorship is something I don't want to get into.best to all,
bbc (Barbara)