response 293 of 335:

Oct 31 06:03 UTC 2001

Re 219:  I actually didn't get the sense at all that the belief that board
meetings should be ftf comes from a belief that "those of us in other
places don't have much to contribute."  I, at least, feel like my
contributions are quite welcome here.  I think if I were serving on a
board, particularly for something like Grex, I'd want to meet with my
fellow board members in person, simply because I think I work better with
people I can see and interact with in person.  To me it seemed like a
concern for group dynamics, not parochialism.  (I did think janc's
comments on experimenting more with other types of meetings made some good
points, though.)

Re 156 (md) and 160 (scott):
(Just as long as we're all bitching about what irritates us about Grex and
about one another...)  Um, I've played Grammar Police on occasion,
usually when people had particular questions about something or said they
weren't sure how to spell something, or whatever.  But I don't get this
trend toward correcting others' spelling unasked.  Is it to prove that
you're smarter than they are?  Is it because you're afraid that if you
don't point out the error they'll corrupt everyone else reading it with
their poor spelling?  Is it simply some obsessive need to correct poor
spelling when you see it?  (I do that too, mentally, but don't feel the
need to type the correctly spelled word each time.)  You two aren't the
only ones I've seen doing this, but it's irritating.  I tend to be quite a
good speller, but I don't generally think better of people because they're
good spellers.  If they start correcting other people's spelling right and
left, I tend to have quite the opposite impression.  It seems rude, and
increasingly common here.  Anyone have any thoughts on why?  I'm genuinely
puzzled.

(This is probably not the best place for this question, but this item
seems to be full of tangents, so what the hell.)

response 295 of 335:

Oct 31 07:35 UTC 2001

re 293:
        I should apologize for the way I said some things in #219, I think.
I've been sick, and wanting to go do stuff but having no energy to do anything
other than sitting here on Grex, so I ended up venting a bunch of frustration
in this item.  I still believe what I said was true, but I should have phrased
it a lot less harshly, and been more clear.  I don't think anybody in this
discussion really believes people who don't live near Ann Arbor don't have
much to contribute, but it certainly seemed to me that there was a strong
sense (who knows, maybe it's even right, but I find him entertaining) that
Jamie didn't have much to contribute.  It seemed to me that Jamie's
location was being attacked unfairly, by people who were really upset about
something unrelated.

I'll certainly agree that, all other things being equal, in person meetings
do have advantages.  When meeting in person is easy, I'll usually choose to
meet in person rather than over the phone.  Still, I don't think it's the most
important factor.  I think Grex, with its worldwide user base, would lose a
lot more by restricting its board to Ann Arbor area people than it would by
allowing board members to phone into board meetings.

response 299 of 335:

Nov 1 05:26 UTC 2001

I just make fun of the people that I know about spelling from time to time.
I expect them to do the same for me.  (I rarely am let down!  :)

response 301 of 335:

Nov 1 15:49 UTC 2001

re #300- as Meg mentioned in #299- she makes fun of the people she 
knows. I think that were I to point out something she mistyped, or 
mispelled, she would find some amusement in it (especially if the typo 
resulted in a real word) and vice versa. 

Now if the two people involved didn't know each other, and didn't have 
a friendship where they kidded and teased each other, it wouldn't be as 
enjoyable. 

Make sense?

response 303 of 335:

Nov 2 13:52 UTC 2001

My question was, do you think other readers find this sort of teasing
interesting to read in agora, or would email be better for it?  Actually,
other readers ought to answer this question.

response 305 of 335:

Nov 2 18:23 UTC 2001

A large number of grexers have known each other for years, and when you
communicate with someone for that long amusing bits of humor are bound to come
up every now and then.  Some do it more (Anne and Meg), some do it less
(rcurl), but we all still do it.  Banter is fun and generally a good way to
keep things lighthearted.

response 307 of 335:

Nov 3 08:18 UTC 2001

Shut up, poodlesquirt.  There isn't enough room on this bbs for the both of
us. :)  

response 309 of 335:

Nov 4 16:54 UTC 2001

would both of you just shut the Hell up and let me talk?

response 313 of 335:

Nov 5 17:20 UTC 2001

(if a cluase is put in to allow/require out-of-towners to teelconference in,
might I suggest that explicit language be put in that stipulates it's at that
BOD's expense, not Grex's? This is Richard's idea and Jamie's candidacy we're
talking about... >=} )

response 315 of 335:

Nov 5 21:15 UTC 2001

... and I would classify that as an unfair restriction on the Board. This
isn't a major corporation.

response 317 of 335:

Nov 5 23:45 UTC 2001

I think #316 was meant for item 58 - I'll answer over there.