A list is still a list

So I have this super good friend that had some list trouble, and I won't put her name here because doing so would just make this a place to come play at being mouthy about a situation that could be avoided if common sense were used. We all know in RL ya wouldn't consider saying the stuff you do in cyber space. Don't tell me ya would either, cuz some of you are truly of the meek and mild and you've found a voice in the cyber black hole called Yahoo groups.

Cool, now use it wisely.

Unless you're me--I WOULD say the stuff in RL that I say here because I'm all about honesty and I try like hell not to be an ass in cyber space as much as I do in the real world.

Yeah, I crack wise--yep, I'm the quintessential one-liner queen, but I never hurt anyone ever. I know people and how far they can be pushed--teased--tormented. I adore people, I've said that so much it makes my teeth hurt. I want to learn about them--understand them--make friends with them. I never want to see anyone be cruel or unkind for any purpose and I'm mostly about diplomacy. Honest, if more people were like-minded--we might bore the hell outta ya, but the world would be crap free.

That said, I just wanna rant here a bit.

Indulge me, K?

These Yahoo groups allow far too much contact with one another in a manner that sometimes is foolhardy and without thought to anything other than the pretty send button and sounding off, when under normal circumstances you'd skulk off and hide behind the water cooler if faced with controversy. However, shit happens and it doesn't have to turn into the third world war if someone makes a mistake.

Oh, but it does, because e-mail is empowering and it allows you the freedom to turn into SUPERMOUTH and today--it got me in my craw. Like a burr in my saddle--I'm pissed off and because I'm all diplomatic--I won't go rushing off to throw myself into the frenzied mosh of people who will surely jump on the bandwagon.

I'll just blog the hell out of it.

K-- why is it that when someone makes a mistake on a list, owns up to it, publicly apologizes for it are they then slammed (with some rather crass language) by people who are supposed to be called professionals?

My defintion of a professional is someone who expresses their opinions with tact, dignity and courtesy to their audiences no MATTER the slam they're given in ANY forum. What would make you think that calling someone a crude name is anything other than what it is--CRUDE--DUH! Certainly not professional.

And why is it that when someone makes the old faux pas--all the folks who have like nada nice to say in an e-mail and call themselves lurkers-- crawl out of the woodwork and spew venom? Half the time it has nothing to do with the 700 people who jump in, but they jump the hell in anyway.

Why is it that you can't take that crap and do it offlist? Because ya just gotta have an op and show yer ass about it--that's why. in front of people who will glom onto your every word. Crap that's so old. I really thnk sometimes it's just so you can feed your ego and see your own typewritten words.

But that's just me and I could be accused of the same thing here, but I don't much care because a friend of mine was attacked and that's just not ok. She said she was wrong--she shut up--to pummel her in a slew of e-mail and make her a public parriah (sp) on every list from here to Kingdom Come is professional?

Nah--that's taking the power of your words and abusing the shit out of it because it makes you feel superior. That's also, immature and incredibly insecure and I'd wonder sometimes if the people who are so vocal, are the ones who spent some time as wannabe prom queens in high school. Relegated to geekdom and now, as writers, behind a comp screen, where no one can see them, they have a modicum of control and it's turned them into Pinky and the Brain and they want to take over the world.

But when someone is hurt--called cruel names--picked on--ganged up on--you're just like all those freaks that picked on YOU in high school and that sucks, yes?

So take the big fat grown up pill and stop behaving like this is auditons for the cheerleading squad and you didn't get picked. Keep your op to yourself unless the battle is with you personally--and if it is--be an adult and have a war of words in your PRIVATE inbox and leave the public flaying OUT of it and don't pick on my friends--cuz it really pisses me off and that's not something that happens a lot to someone like me.

In a phrase--GET OVER YOURSELF.

Rant over.

Dakota :)