[Asterisk-Users] G.729 licensing/patent? . . . I SMELL SMOKE!

[Jim Van Meggelen]

Amen.

Oops, did I just top post? How terribly lazy of me.

But I digress.

Few will disagree that the careful application of netiquette will be a
benefit to any newsgroup/mailing list/board; and top posting is
something that should be used sparingly. Nevertheless, top posting is
not the horrid crime some might have us believe. When used
appropriately, it serves very well, and only causes offense to the
ideologues. "Me too"-type top posing is usually of no benefit, but when
someone is commenting on a tangled and involved thread, it can make
sense to frame the entirety of the thread in a thoughtful top post.

What IS a serious breach of netiquette, however, is trolling. Efforts to
turn this list into a clique for the sole use of the properly initiated
will never benefit the community. There's something destructive about
the behaviour of individuals who refuse to tolerate opinions different
from their own. These people are little better than bullies because they
serve no one but themselves.

Then we get to the most dangerous beast, the abusive, expert troll. This
is someone who clearly is very intelligent and articulate, and could
argue their value due to a) their willingness to contribute, b) their
level of knowledge and c) their fantastic writing skills. Unfortunately,
these folks reduce their value to almost nothing by virtue of their
pathetic lack of any manners whatsoever. They will drive away more
people than they help -- and that doesn't bother them in the slightest.
What a waste of talent.

We all understand that it is generally best to avoid feeding the trolls,
but every now and then the townsfolk must grab shovels and pitchforks,
and drive these beasts back into the caves from whence they came; where,
one hopes, they will contemplate the value of a few simple manners, and
perhaps even one day to attempt to give to the community without the
needless rancour.

Where do I send my $0.02?



> -----Original Message-----
> From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com 
> [mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of 
> Mike Boger Jr
> Sent: October 22, 2004 11:07 PM
> To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] G.729 licensing/patent?
> 
> 
> Flamebait,
> 
>  There seem to be alot of folks who "lazily top post" and 
> therefore don't meet your criteria of acceptable asterisk 
> users mailing list posters.  Maybe all the $0.02 donations 
> could be used to fund a manual on what the acceptable Kevin 
> Walsh method of replying to asterisk user messages is. I 
> think it's a stellar idea. Once you've written the manual 
> Kevin, why don't we make it mandatory the nobody can top post 
> to the Digium sponsored list? Hell, you may even be able to 
> charge for it.
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Kevin Walsh" <kevin at cursor.biz>
> To: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion" 
> <asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
> Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 12:26 PM
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] G.729 licensing/patent?
> 
> 
> > Kanuri, Seshu (Company IT) [Seshu.Kanuri at morganstanley.com] lazily
> > top-posted:
> > > Just my $0.02 Cents
> > >
> > I propose that an Asterisk development fund be set up to 
> > hold all of 
> > these $0.02 donations.  People who are not quite as cheap 
> > could donate a little bit more.
> 
> 
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