Re^5: To help not to misguide

[ptum]

You are right -- posting, or participating in any online community requires a certain amount of thick skin. I know that it has really helped me to keep a good sense of humor about the things people say, and I try not to take myself so seriously that I can't accept correction. For example, I'm choosing not to take offense about being compared unfavorably with your three-year-old nephew. :) But that doesn't mean that I (and by possible extension, you) shouldn't at least try to be as gracious and kind as possible, especially when correcting people.

It is ironic to observe that I violated my own recommendation to you -- I speculated about your motivations; voila, you picked up on that particular part of my post and seem inclined to reject it.

I'll stick to my own motivations. I like PerlMonks, and I think you and a bunch of the other monks have a lot to offer. I'd rather not waste time in flame wars, but instead I would like to promote a general sense of goodwill and 'brotherly love' -- hence my attempt to persuade you to take a little more time in wording your posts to be kind. I think you make some very cogent arguments and I will certainly try to keep a thick skin and to be more judicious about posting responses.

I care about how you are perceived. :)