Cliff Wells wrote: > > But of course "not everyone" is a double-edged sword that can just as > easily be turned against either party. If we limit ourselves to saying > what is going to be the most palatable for the widest audience we will > most likely find ourselves confined to discussing the weather.
I recall at this point the advice once given to writers submitting articles to Linux Journal: "Be careful with humor. Sarcasm and irony are misread easily and can be offensive. Many readers have English as a second language and may not be familiar with your culture's running jokes and topical matters." http://www.linuxjournal.com/xstatic/author/authguide > And of course, people who worry too much about impressing others rarely > do. Just ask DHH of Ruby on Rails fame: > > http://static.flickr.com/47/127984254_ddd4363d6a_m.jpg Yes, but not everyone is happy about that: "DHH has just got to stop saying [word elided] at conferences." https://www.lostlake.org/blog/index.php?/archives/11-The-Impending-Ruby-Fracture.html#c36 There's a clear difference between using profanity for dramatic effect (acceptable in various contexts) and going round like a twelve year old, mouthing off in an attempt to impress or shock people. [...] > I'll apply an old software maxim (from sendmail?) to the topic of public > interaction: "Be liberal in what you accept, conservative in what you > send." Applying this would suggest that both parties were equally at > fault in this situation, so perhaps we can just leave it at that. I think this is reasonable advice. Paul -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
