Goodbye

As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. Technically, I
suppose, the attack was on my wife. One reason given for this
unprovoked attack was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. It is not
acceptable to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

I was very upset. I still feel upset well over a month later at this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some because
Gandalf had suffered a loss. Yowie said I was mean-spirited to be so
upset.

I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a
month to see how I felt. What do I feel?

First, I could never post another anecdote here. I would have no idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a loss".

Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack.
Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which
seems all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. While I have enjoyed
many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not reading
the articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. I see he is on
Facebook: I do hope he will post articles there as much as possible.

Of course I shall regret going. I was reading rec.pets.cats before
RPCA was ever invented. At least I can re-read the hundreds of articles
on my site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put on
my Storypage. They will get there in time. If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a
long article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact that
"we" are the best country in the world and went on in this vein. The
author was so insensitive on an international NG that she never
mentioned the country. Amazing.

I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I
felt I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. I never
understood that.

I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many
many stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in
New Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because of
a little story about Nico or Nemo. I shall post no more stories about
them: I shall read no more.

Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive
than in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave
Yehudah, whom I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles, and
who has many stories on my Storypage. If people want this NG to
continue I suggest you should discourage the nasty people, not encourage
them, and accept everyone has losses, but they do not justify rudeness.

Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.

--
David Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.org/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome
Nico: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T+ A+ E++ H S+ V+ F- Q P+ B+ PA PL- SC+
Nemo: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T A+ E++ H S+ V+ F- Q P B+ PA PL- SC+

On Feb 1, 12:35*pm, David Stevenson wrote:
.. *At least I can re-read the hundreds of articles
on my site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put on
my Storypage. *They will get there in time. *If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I am sorry that you have decided this- I shall miss your stories but
see you on FB

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

On Feb 1, 12:35*pm, David Stevenson wrote:
* *As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. *Technically, I
suppose, the attack was on my wife. *One reason given for this
unprovoked attack was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

* *We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. *It is not
acceptable to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

* *I was very upset. *I still feel upset well over a month later at this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. *When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some because
Gandalf had suffered a loss. *Yowie said I was mean-spirited to be so
upset.

* *I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a
month to see how I felt. *What do I feel?

* *First, I could never post another anecdote here. *I would have no idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a loss".

* *Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack..
Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". *I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which
seems all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

* *Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. *While I have enjoyed
many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not reading
the articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. *I see he is on
Facebook: I do hope he will post articles there as much as possible.

* *Of course I shall regret going. *I was reading rec.pets.cats before
RPCA was ever invented. *At least I can re-read the hundreds of articles
on my site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put on
my Storypage. *They will get there in time. *If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

* *I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. *I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. *Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a
long article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact that
"we" are the best country in the world and went on in this vein. *The
author was so insensitive on an international NG that she never
mentioned the country. *Amazing.

* *I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I
felt I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. *I never
understood that.

* *I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many
many stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in
New Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

* *But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because of
a little story about Nico or Nemo. *I shall post no more stories about
them: I shall read no more.

* *Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive
than in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave
Yehudah, whom I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles, and
who has many stories on my Storypage. *If people want this NG to
continue I suggest you should discourage the nasty people, not encourage
them, and accept everyone has losses, but they do not justify rudeness.

* *Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. *Good-bye.

--
David Stevenson * * * * * *Storypage:http://blakjak.org/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK * * *Emails welcome
Nico: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T+ A+ E++ H S+ V+ F- Q P+ B+ PA PL- SC+
Nemo: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T *A+ E++ H S+ V+ F- Q P *B+ PA PL- SC+

I'm sorry that you've made this decision David, I can understand why
things have piled up and left you feeling unappreciated, after all
that you've done for everyone here. I just wish that you could see
that there still is some good here.

I also think that you misread Yowie's comments, she would never hurt
you deliberately, but that's between the two of you.

Love

Jeanette

David Stevenson wrote in
:


As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month
or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. Technically, I
suppose, the attack was on my wife. One reason given for this
unprovoked attack was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. It is not
acceptable to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

I was very upset. I still feel upset well over a month later at
this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some
because Gandalf had suffered a loss. Yowie said I was mean-spirited
to be so upset.

I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a
month to see how I felt. What do I feel?

First, I could never post another anecdote here. I would have no
idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a
loss".

Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack.
Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which
seems all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. While I have
enjoyed many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not
reading the articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. I see he
is on Facebook: I do hope he will post articles there as much as
possible.

Of course I shall regret going. I was reading rec.pets.cats before
RPCA was ever invented. At least I can re-read the hundreds of
articles on my site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not
yet put on my Storypage. They will get there in time. If anyone nice
wants to communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet
everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a
long article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact
that "we" are the best country in the world and went on in this vein.
The author was so insensitive on an international NG that she never
mentioned the country. Amazing.

I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I
felt I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. I never
understood that.

I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many
many stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in
New Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because
of
a little story about Nico or Nemo. I shall post no more stories about
them: I shall read no more.

Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive
than in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave
Yehudah, whom I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles, and
who has many stories on my Storypage. If people want this NG to
continue I suggest you should discourage the nasty people, not
encourage them, and accept everyone has losses, but they do not
justify rudeness.

Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.


I find attacks on here regrettable. The world doesn't need more grief.
See you on FB!

Bobble

David Stevenson wrote:


Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.


Well, only you can judge your degree of "upset", but I cannot IMAGINE
being that disturbed over an internet comment (or even several) from
people I've never even MET!!!! You don't know them, they don't know
you, and written words are much easier to misinterpret than those spoken
face-to-face. (For that matter, even face-to-face, unintended
misunderstandings can arise.) Some of the older and more cautious among
us avoid the "social networks" such as Facebook like the plague (for
good reason, if we value what the internet has let us retain of our
privacy). Hopefully you'll miss rpca enough to visit once in a while.

"David Stevenson" wrote in message
...

As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. Technically, I suppose,
the attack was on my wife. One reason given for this unprovoked attack
was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. It is not acceptable
to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

I was very upset. I still feel upset well over a month later at this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some because
Gandalf had suffered a loss. Yowie said I was mean-spirited to be so
upset.

I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a month
to see how I felt. What do I feel?

First, I could never post another anecdote here. I would have no idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a loss".

Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack.
Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which seems
all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. While I have enjoyed
many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not reading the
articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. I see he is on Facebook:
I do hope he will post articles there as much as possible.

Of course I shall regret going. I was reading rec.pets.cats before RPCA
was ever invented. At least I can re-read the hundreds of articles on my
site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put on my
Storypage. They will get there in time. If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a long
article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact that "we"
are the best country in the world and went on in this vein. The author
was so insensitive on an international NG that she never mentioned the
country. Amazing.

I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I felt
I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. I never understood
that.

I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many many
stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in New
Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because of a
little story about Nico or Nemo. I shall post no more stories about them:
I shall read no more.

Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive than
in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave Yehudah, whom
I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles, and who has many
stories on my Storypage. If people want this NG to continue I suggest you
should discourage the nasty people, not encourage them, and accept
everyone has losses, but they do not justify rudeness.

Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.

--
David Stevenson Storypage: http://blakjak.org/sty_menu.htm

I'm sorry to hear this, David, especially since I don't do Facebook. I do
understand why you were hurt and am very sorry about that.

Joy

On 1/02/2011 11:35 PM, David Stevenson wrote:

As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. Technically, I
suppose, the attack was on my wife. One reason given for this unprovoked
attack was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. It is not acceptable
to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

I was very upset. I still feel upset well over a month later at this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some because
Gandalf had suffered a loss.

Acceptable, no, understandable, yes.

Yowie said I was mean-spirited to be so upset.

No, I didn't, David. Mean spirited has nothing to do with being upset. I
well understood that you were upset, and did my best to defend you.

However, my comments regarding mean spiritedness was because you had
gone and attacked Stormee - and I think you did so because you were
upset as I've never, *ever* seen you do that before.

These are your words to her:

"Clearly you have no idea of cat behaviour. I feel very
sorry for you. Fortunately my wife is not so stupid.

It is a shame that you think that criticising
perfect strangers who you have never met over behaviour
you clearly do not understand is what this newsgroup is for."

and

"Pity you have no understanding of cat5s nor sense of humour.."

They seem pretty mean spirited to me.

Now, were you upset when you wrote those words? Of course you were. Is
it understandable that you were not thinking as rationally as you
usually do? Of course! However, does that justify you calling Stormee
stupid, saying you feel sorry for her, saying that she has no
understanding of cats, and that she has no sense of humour, and that she
has no understanding of what RPCA is about?

Not in my opinion.

The ironic thing is that you have lashed out at someone whilst you were
in a state of deep emotional hurt. Just like Gandalf did.

It certainly doesn't justify the attack, but perhaps it may make it more
understanble and - maybe - forgivable. We are, after all, only human.

I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a month
to see how I felt. What do I feel?

First, I could never post another anecdote here. I would have no idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a loss".

Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack.

David, if you have an issue with me I wish you would have addressed me
personally about it so we could have worked it out. Can we still do that?

Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which
seems all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

Alas, David, I suspect the problem here is that - being upset - you are
not reading my words in the spirit in which I wrote them. You have taken
objection to one small part of what I was saying, taken it in a meaning
other than it was intended, and can no longer see anything else that I
wrote about you and your wife.

I have not and have NEVER meant or implied that 'being upset' is 'mean
spirited.' I have set out the reason behind my comment that your attack
on Stormee was mean spirited above. I also have also stated previously
in this post, and indeed in the original thread, you wrote those words
in a state of deep emotional pain.

In the original thread, I also noted that for as long as I have known
you - which is from just after the Great Split back in 1996 - you have
*always* been a model citizen of RPCA, and that should count for
something, so your sudden emotional outburst should not be considered in
any way typical of your usual demeanor.

Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. While I have enjoyed
many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not reading
the articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. I see he is on
Facebook: I do hope he will post articles there as much as possible.

Can you set your newsreader to killfile everyone but Mark?

Of course I shall regret going. I was reading rec.pets.cats before RPCA
was ever invented. At least I can re-read the hundreds of articles on my
site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put on my
Storypage. They will get there in time. If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a
long article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact that
"we" are the best country in the world and went on in this vein. The
author was so insensitive on an international NG that she never
mentioned the country. Amazing.

I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I felt
I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. I never understood that.

I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many many
stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in New
Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because of a
little story about Nico or Nemo. I shall post no more stories about
them: I shall read no more.

Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive than
in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave Yehudah,
whom I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles, and who has
many stories on my Storypage. If people want this NG to continue I
suggest you should discourage the nasty people, not encourage them, and
accept everyone has losses, but they do not justify rudeness.

Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.

I'm sorry you saw it that way, David. It certainly as not my intent.

Yowie

In ,
NettieCat typed:
On Feb 1, 12:35 pm, David Stevenson wrote:
As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month
or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. Technically, I
suppose, the attack was on my wife. One reason given for this
unprovoked attack was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. It is not
acceptable to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

I was very upset. I still feel upset well over a month later at this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some
because Gandalf had suffered a loss. Yowie said I was mean-spirited
to be so
upset.

I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a
month to see how I felt. What do I feel?

First, I could never post another anecdote here. I would have no idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a
loss".

Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack.
Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which
seems all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. While I have
enjoyed
many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not reading
the articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. I see he is on
Facebook: I do hope he will post articles there as much as possible.

Of course I shall regret going. I was reading rec.pets.cats before
RPCA was ever invented. At least I can re-read the hundreds of
articles
on my site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put
on
my Storypage. They will get there in time. If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a
long article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact
that "we" are the best country in the world and went on in this
vein. The
author was so insensitive on an international NG that she never
mentioned the country. Amazing.

I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I
felt I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. I never
understood that.

I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many
many stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in
New Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because
of
a little story about Nico or Nemo. I shall post no more stories about
them: I shall read no more.

Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive
than in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave
Yehudah, whom I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles,
and
who has many stories on my Storypage. If people want this NG to
continue I suggest you should discourage the nasty people, not
encourage them, and accept everyone has losses, but they do not
justify rudeness.

Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.

--
David Stevenson Storypage:http://blakjak.org/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome
Nico: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T+ A+ E++ H S+ V+ F- Q P+ B+
PA PL- SC+ Nemo: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T A+ E++ H S+ V+ F-
Q P B+ PA PL- SC+

I'm sorry that you've made this decision David, I can understand why
things have piled up and left you feeling unappreciated, after all
that you've done for everyone here. I just wish that you could see
that there still is some good here.

I also think that you misread Yowie's comments, she would never hurt
you deliberately, but that's between the two of you.

Thanks for saying that, Jeanette -and you are right. I never intended to
hurt David (i thought I was defending him!) and feel that I've been very
much taken out of context on this one.

Yowie

Yowie wrote:

In ,
NettieCat typed:
On Feb 1, 12:35 pm, David Stevenson wrote:
As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month
or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. Technically, I
suppose, the attack was on my wife. One reason given for this
unprovoked attack was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. It is not
acceptable to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

I was very upset. I still feel upset well over a month later at this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some
because Gandalf had suffered a loss. Yowie said I was mean-spirited
to be so
upset.

I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a
month to see how I felt. What do I feel?

First, I could never post another anecdote here. I would have no idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a
loss".

Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack.
Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which
seems all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. While I have
enjoyed
many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not reading
the articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. I see he is on
Facebook: I do hope he will post articles there as much as possible.

Of course I shall regret going. I was reading rec.pets.cats before
RPCA was ever invented. At least I can re-read the hundreds of
articles
on my site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put
on
my Storypage. They will get there in time. If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a
long article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact
that "we" are the best country in the world and went on in this
vein. The
author was so insensitive on an international NG that she never
mentioned the country. Amazing.

I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I
felt I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. I never
understood that.

I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many
many stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in
New Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because
of
a little story about Nico or Nemo. I shall post no more stories about
them: I shall read no more.

Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive
than in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave
Yehudah, whom I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles,
and
who has many stories on my Storypage. If people want this NG to
continue I suggest you should discourage the nasty people, not
encourage them, and accept everyone has losses, but they do not
justify rudeness.

Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.

--
David Stevenson Storypage:http://blakjak.org/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome
Nico: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T+ A+ E++ H S+ V+ F- Q P+ B+
PA PL- SC+ Nemo: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T A+ E++ H S+ V+ F-
Q P B+ PA PL- SC+

I'm sorry that you've made this decision David, I can understand why
things have piled up and left you feeling unappreciated, after all
that you've done for everyone here. I just wish that you could see
that there still is some good here.

I also think that you misread Yowie's comments, she would never hurt
you deliberately, but that's between the two of you.

Thanks for saying that, Jeanette -and you are right. I never intended to
hurt David (i thought I was defending him!) and feel that I've been very
much taken out of context on this one.

It's interesting. I've seen a number of people "take their leave" in a
similar manner, and once they've decided they're not wanted somewhere,
their minds are made up and nothing anyone does or says seems capable
of changing that.

Whereas if I were feeling like David is feeling, your comment above
(along with the comments of several others, asking David to stay) would
change my mind in an INSTANT. Usually when I feel hurt and rejected, all
it would take is a few people to say, "No, we love you Joyce, please don't
go!" and I'd be *over it*.

This is not to say that I wouldn't feel the same way again sometime in
the future, for some other reason, but that particular episode would be
over for me.

We all have our upset, cranky and irrational moments, and I'm certainly
no exception. On the other hand, I don't think I'm any *more* cranky or
irrational than anyone else. I guess the bottom line is, no matter how
nice a person is, "nice" doesn't really buy much. That's not what makes
people care about each other, in the end. David Yehudah wasn't popular
here because he was *nice*. He was popular because he was funny, and
entertaining - a spinner of wild tales with a unique take on life. I'm
confident that David Stevenson is liked in a simliar manner, so he's
allowed an occasional outburst.

Joyce

--
Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me,
for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me
the hell alone. -- Unknown

wrote in message
...
Yowie wrote:

In
,
NettieCat typed:
On Feb 1, 12:35 pm, David Stevenson wrote:
As I expect you remember I posted a humorous little article a month
or
two ago, and was immediately attacked by Gandalf. Technically, I
suppose, the attack was on my wife. One reason given for this
unprovoked attack was that Gandalf had suffered a loss.

We have all lost cats, or dogs or family members. It is not
acceptable to be rude to someone else because we have had a loss.

I was very upset. I still feel upset well over a month later at this
scurrilous and unprovoked attack. When I indicated how upset I was, a
minority of people though Gandalf's attack was acceptable, some
because Gandalf had suffered a loss. Yowie said I was mean-spirited
to be so
upset.

I did not want to do anything quickly so I have left it for over a
month to see how I felt. What do I feel?

First, I could never post another anecdote here. I would have no idea
whether someone would attack me, perhaps "because they had had a
loss".

Second, I am almost more shocked at Yowie than the original attack.
Being so upset that I have been in tears having read it does not seem
"mean-spirited". I suppose Yowie is merely blaming the victim which
seems all the rage these days but I see no reason to blame victims.

Third, since I have not felt like reading here since, I expect not
reading this NG will not be the end of the world. While I have
enjoyed
many many articles here, the only loss i really feel from not reading
the articles is not reading Mark Edward's articles. I see he is on
Facebook: I do hope he will post articles there as much as possible.

Of course I shall regret going. I was reading rec.pets.cats before
RPCA was ever invented. At least I can re-read the hundreds of
articles
on my site, plus the hundreds more I have collected but not yet put
on
my Storypage. They will get there in time. If anyone nice wants to
communicate with me I can be found on Facebook.

I remember the years when I had more time and tried to greet everyone
with my welcome letter and the standard letters I had for specific
problems, like a lost cat. I used to send them out, and enjoyed it.
Sadly, I have had less time for NGs and had to stop that. Of course I
also remember the bad times: the worst article I ever read here was a
long article praising "our" country and "our" soldiers and the fact
that "we" are the best country in the world and went on in this
vein. The
author was so insensitive on an international NG that she never
mentioned the country. Amazing.

I was also attacked for giving my standard letters to the NG when I
felt I had no longer the time to keep sending them out. I never
understood that.

I was very sad that when Flippy and I both had web sites with many
many stories and the search for a lost cat made the national media in
New Zealand they were told all about Flippy's page but not mine.

But nothing had quite prepared me for an unjustified attack because
of
a little story about Nico or Nemo. I shall post no more stories about
them: I shall read no more.

Of course this NG was also noticeably less friendly and supportive
than in the days when every second day there was a story by Dave
Yehudah, whom I had the privilege of meeting twice in Los Angeles,
and
who has many stories on my Storypage. If people want this NG to
continue I suggest you should discourage the nasty people, not
encourage them, and accept everyone has losses, but they do not
justify rudeness.

Ok, Gandalf, Yowie, you have seen me off. Good-bye.

--
David Stevenson Storypage:http://blakjak.org/sty_menu.htm
Liverpool, England, UK Emails welcome
Nico: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T+ A+ E++ H S+ V+ F- Q P+ B+
PA PL- SC+ Nemo: SI Vp B 0.6 Y++ L-- W C+++ I+++ T A+ E++ H S+ V+ F-
Q P B+ PA PL- SC+

I'm sorry that you've made this decision David, I can understand why
things have piled up and left you feeling unappreciated, after all
that you've done for everyone here. I just wish that you could see
that there still is some good here.

I also think that you misread Yowie's comments, she would never hurt
you deliberately, but that's between the two of you.

Thanks for saying that, Jeanette -and you are right. I never intended to
hurt David (i thought I was defending him!) and feel that I've been very
much taken out of context on this one.

It's interesting. I've seen a number of people "take their leave" in a
similar manner, and once they've decided they're not wanted somewhere,
their minds are made up and nothing anyone does or says seems capable
of changing that.

Whereas if I were feeling like David is feeling, your comment above
(along with the comments of several others, asking David to stay) would
change my mind in an INSTANT. Usually when I feel hurt and rejected, all
it would take is a few people to say, "No, we love you Joyce, please don't
go!" and I'd be *over it*.

This is not to say that I wouldn't feel the same way again sometime in
the future, for some other reason, but that particular episode would be
over for me.

We all have our upset, cranky and irrational moments, and I'm certainly
no exception. On the other hand, I don't think I'm any *more* cranky or
irrational than anyone else. I guess the bottom line is, no matter how
nice a person is, "nice" doesn't really buy much. That's not what makes
people care about each other, in the end. David Yehudah wasn't popular
here because he was *nice*. He was popular because he was funny, and
entertaining - a spinner of wild tales with a unique take on life. I'm
confident that David Stevenson is liked in a simliar manner, so he's
allowed an occasional outburst.

Joyce

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you. I happen to like people who are
nice, and the fact that they are nice is probably the main reason I like
them. If they are entertaining, that's a plus.

Joy