Oh, come now. You can't lump that all together and then not even *say* anything. How am I supposed to learn and respond if I don't know what you're thinking?
For the first part, if you think it was uncalled for that I was rather flippant with the creative way I chose to say that the post was rather difficult to parse, just say so. Generally, I've found it's better to be boisterous and entertaining when saying something is unreadable (and providing what you think was said); just coming out and saying, "I have no idea what you wrote" tends to offend people more often, even if it's completely true, and rarely has anyone posted a rewritten reply.
(Precision in language is one of the things I value highly, especially online. When written text is all you have to go by, misunderstandings come easily. I consider it my duty to take the time to consider my phrases, capitalize my letters, and punctuate my sentences. I ask none of this of anyone else, but as I consider writing well to be a sign of respect for others, I must hold *myself* to a higher standard. For example, I don't post without having read the preview and edited for content, comprehension, and formatting.)
For the second part, i.e. the doubles, if you disagree with me, go ahead and tell me I'm gonna die or I'm an idiot or whatever. *Please*, comment, as it's only through discussion that learning can take place. I honestly *do* find it completely illogical when I encounter people who think more air is always better (and therefore think a pony is *at best* a poor substitute that unthinking divers use).
Having an engineering degree doesn't make me intrinsically better than anyone, but knowing that is my background should serve to illuminate how I think about requirements, redundancy, and the like. (The definitive engineering joke reads: "The optimist says the cup is half full. The pessimist says the cup is half empty. The engineer says the cup... is twice as big as it needs to be.")
Finally, for the third part, I was so thoroughly entertained by the truism ("To not become entangled, don't dive near anything that can entangle you.") that I just *had* to play with it. Perhaps my playful sense of humor does not mesh well with yours (or perhaps I should be chided for not including several smileys, which hindsight indicates were indeed advisable), but you should know from my many posts that I enjoy things. At the same time, however, I would never do anything mean-spirited, and if by lack of understanding I ever do something that comes across poorly, I will absolutely apologize, cease, and desist. In order to know that I have inadvertently gone too far, however, someone must *say* something.
For the first part, if you think it was uncalled for that I was rather flippant with the creative way I chose to say that the post was rather difficult to parse, just say so. Generally, I've found it's better to be boisterous and entertaining when saying something is unreadable (and providing what you think was said); just coming out and saying, "I have no idea what you wrote" tends to offend people more often, even if it's completely true, and rarely has anyone posted a rewritten reply.
(Precision in language is one of the things I value highly, especially online. When written text is all you have to go by, misunderstandings come easily. I consider it my duty to take the time to consider my phrases, capitalize my letters, and punctuate my sentences. I ask none of this of anyone else, but as I consider writing well to be a sign of respect for others, I must hold *myself* to a higher standard. For example, I don't post without having read the preview and edited for content, comprehension, and formatting.)
For the second part, i.e. the doubles, if you disagree with me, go ahead and tell me I'm gonna die or I'm an idiot or whatever. *Please*, comment, as it's only through discussion that learning can take place. I honestly *do* find it completely illogical when I encounter people who think more air is always better (and therefore think a pony is *at best* a poor substitute that unthinking divers use).
Having an engineering degree doesn't make me intrinsically better than anyone, but knowing that is my background should serve to illuminate how I think about requirements, redundancy, and the like. (The definitive engineering joke reads: "The optimist says the cup is half full. The pessimist says the cup is half empty. The engineer says the cup... is twice as big as it needs to be.")
Finally, for the third part, I was so thoroughly entertained by the truism ("To not become entangled, don't dive near anything that can entangle you.") that I just *had* to play with it. Perhaps my playful sense of humor does not mesh well with yours (or perhaps I should be chided for not including several smileys, which hindsight indicates were indeed advisable), but you should know from my many posts that I enjoy things. At the same time, however, I would never do anything mean-spirited, and if by lack of understanding I ever do something that comes across poorly, I will absolutely apologize, cease, and desist. In order to know that I have inadvertently gone too far, however, someone must *say* something.
