Re: Qilongia and Darwin

["Colin McHenry" <cmchenry@westserv.net.au>]

Dear Stephan,

In case it is of any interest to you, I must say that, whilst the general
point of your email was interesting and fair, I think the refusal to use
Jaime's real name, and to pointedly use instead the domain name for his
website, is unnecessary.  It strongly suggests a lack of respect for the
person rather than for his ideas.

I do not know whether you know Jaime well enough to choose not respect him,
but in any case that is irrelevant in the context of this list.  This list
is about the discussion of ideas, not personalities.  It has developed into
a community of people who share a common interest and who enjoy, and
presumably draw benefit, from discussing that interest.  The reason that it
is such a good community is, I believe, to do with the fact that most of the
participants behave responsibly and professionally (even if they are
'amateurs'), and the list polices itself.  So many internet communities are
merely forums for people who hide behind the anonimity of their email
address and indulge themselves in spleen venting.  I think that it is
important that the DML does not become like this (for selfish reasons if
nothing else - the list is currently the only opportunity I have for
discussing palaeontology with a group of my peers, and developing and
maintaining professional relationships).

I have told you before, I think that your posts to this list sometimes fail
to conceal a certain level of arrogance.  I don't believe that there is
anything wrong with this per se - you'd hardly be the only one, and I'm sure
that Jaime and many others would confess to this fault on occasion as well.
Any arrogance that you may display is also accompanied by a thorough
knowledge of your subject, and a high level of enthusiasm for sharing that
knowledge with the list, which does you great credit.  But arrogance can be
a problem if it is allowed to fuel personal attacks.  I think that your post
today came very close to being one of those.  Actually, I think it worse
than Tracy's recent post (which I presume he's been timed-out for) where he
used a certain colourful term to describe Mary, because it is possible to
use that word in the context of grudging respect yet disagreement.

I personally find that if there is a post to the list that makes my blood
boil I wait a day before replying to try and ensure that I don't say
anything that I might later regret (it doesn't always work, but it does
help).  There's nothing wrong with being passionate about your subject, and
anger is part of passion, but we all owe it to ourselves and each other not
to let the anger get personal.  In any case, personal attacks usually
detract from any valid points you may be making (as has been the case in
your post).

You may, of course, choose to ignore this advice, but please do remember
that it is offered constructively, with respect, and in the spirit of
friendship.

Lecture over

Cheers
Colin

Colin McHenry
56 Gaskill St
CANOWINDRA,  NSW 2804,  Australia
Ph: +61 2 6344 1009
Mobile phone: 0428 131 858
email: cmchenry@westserv.net.au