[plug] Re: Irony

[Matt Kemner]

On Thu, 6 May 1999, Bret Busby wrote:

> I had assumed, apart from the use of silly pseudonyms, like B G Gruff,
> or some of the stuff that has been posted by Leon, which clearly shows
> that he is "funnin", that the people were sincere.

Does that mean you fell for Greg's original message, which started the
whole thread? (He posted that under his own name because it was, or so he
thought, blatantly obvious he was being sarcastic. Only when people
started flaming him did he change his name, because he thought that would 
make it more obvious)

> Similarly, if we are not to take what is said, seriously, if we ask 
> for advice, how are we to know that someone is not sending advice that 
> will stuff our systems, as some kind of joke?

In the Original linux-kernel mailing list I got sent when I first
subscribed (unfortunately I don't have it anymore, and it's not in the
current FAQ) there was a question along the lines of

"How do I know when I should take someone's advice - how do I know they
aren't saying something that will break my computer, as a joke"

and the answer was to read the mailnig list for a few weeks at least, so
you can get a general sort of "feel" for the main posters to the list, and
how well-respected they are etc.

The same should go for all "help" mailing lists - for example if I were to
ask for help, I'd be more inclined to follow the advice of someone I know,
than someone I'd never seen posting on the list before.
This should be a rule of life, both real and net-based.

Seriously, why would someone suggest we stop the staroffice thread, and
mean it?  If they really did, surely they are too stupid to warrant
replying to?

 - Matt