On fighting fire with fire...

[Rocco Moretti]

Asad Habib wrote:
> Well, even if you are a hobbyist, that does not excuse you from being
> civil. After all, we are all humans beings that deserve to be treated with
> respect. Professional, hobbyist, vagabond, ogre, instigator, troll ...
> THERE IS NO EXCUSE ... please treat others with respect.

I really don't think we're disagreeing.

I agree that it is inappropriate, regardless of position or experience, 
  to be rude, hostile, or vitriolic on this newsgroup. And it should be 
made clear to people who are, that it isn't appropriate. However, in 
doing so, it is also inappropriate to become rude, hostile, or vitriolic 
oneself - as Skip mentioned in the post that started all this, the 
appropriate way of handling it is by demonstrating proper behavior yourself.

If, for whatever reason, you do find the desire to be rude, hostile, or 
vitriolic, you can satisfy your urge by writing out your rant and then 
deleting it. You'll feel better by getting it off your chest, and you 
won't have escalated anything.

The reason I point out the hobbyist issue is to disabuse people of the 
misperception that everyone on this list is adhering to some 
professional code of conduct that they should be ostracized for 
breaching. This isn't to excuse their behavior - I'm just pointing out 
that people are coming from different backgrounds, and that we should 
treat them with consideration and respect, even when they aren't showing 
us any.