This letter is kind of ironic, is't it? For those of you who are not familar with the English word "ironic" I kindly include 2 short blurbs from Websters dictionary. :) -alan iron.ic \i--'ra:n-ik\ \-i-k*l\ \-k(*-)le-\ \-k*l-n*s\ aj 1: relating to, containing, or constituting irony 2: given to irony - iron.i.cal aj iro.ny \'i--r*-ne-\ n [L ironia, fr. Gk eiro-nia, fr. eiro-n dissembler] 1: a pretense of ignorance and of willingness to learn from another assumed in order to make the other's false conceptions conspicuous by adroit questioning 2a: the use of words to express something other than and esp. the opposite of the literal meaning 2b: a usu. humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony 2c: an ironic expression or utterance 3a1: incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result 3a2: an event or result marked by such incongruity 3b: incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play 4: an attitude of detached awareness of incongruity typical of the depictor or observer of an ironic situation ......... Tim Bass is rumored to have said: ] ] ] Nanog, ] ] Before we begin to retire into the slow holiday mode of operation, ] I would like to offer this simple thought as a word of caution ] for those engaged in internetworking discussions. ] ] Last week, someone asked a valid question about pending and potential ] problems with aggregation and address space portability issues. The ] initial response was a statement validating that concern with hopes ] of a developing a fruit bearing discussion on this very controversial ] " in the closet " topic. The public process then followed the common ] disturbing direction that always clouds the issues (especially on the ] potential non-technical problems of aggregation) and effectively ] destroyed any prospect of meaningful interchange. ] ] I kindly caution many on this list, as internetworking topics are discussed ] related to Internet operations, *not* to be seduced by those skillful ] at pedantic discussions that obfuscate any controversial position ] that they disagree. Especially on the Internet, many are seduced by ] those who obfuscate the facts by pedantic side discussions and this ] important list is no exception. ] ] For those of you who are not familar with the English word "pedant" ] I kindly include a short blurb from Websters dictionary. ] ] pedant, n. 1. a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate show of ] learning. 2. a person who overemphasizes rules or minor ] details.... ] ] I kindly caution those unfamiliar with pedantic postings and the use ] of pedanticism on mailing lists to understand when to recognize these ] email postings and responses that tend to be pedantic in nature. ] Pedanticism can be used very effectively to seduce the public into ] refocusing the discussion from a logical argument that cannot be won nor ] argued convincingly, to one that is tangential to the topic. Often ] these pedantic responses clearly and effectively allow the poster ] to change the subject and then demonstrate their "knowledge" in a ] tangential or related subject area which they are well versed. As you ] can see, this clearly obfuscates the original concerns and issues. ] ] ] As we approach 1996, I only caution out of kind regard for tangible ] progress in building internet services to practice recognizing ] when 'hawks and eagles' and other high flying posters enjoy easily ] seducing the general audience with pedanticism, either intentional ] or unintenional. ] ] Practicing, in your own mind, to discern and recognize pedantic email ] discussions helps all of us who care about enjoying 'meaningful, ] tangible discussions' to think with clear comprehension. It is very ] well documented in civilized history that pure intellect and logic ] without attempting to include elements of patience and kindness, ] is *not* wisdom. Wisdom is the pursuit and practice of intellect ] with patience and understanding of others. For all of us, especially ] me, the pursuit of changing raw technical excellence to refined ] wisdom is a very challenging life pursuit. I work daily to improve my ] self-awarenedd in this area because, as an electrical engineer, I once ] believed that the 'intellect of building systems' was more important ] than the 'less intelligent ' society we engineer systems to benefit. ] ] This manner of thinking is clearly flawed and those, including myself, ] who are attracted to 'higher education' and intellectual pursuits ] have a nature human tendency to be seduced by this incomplete position. ] What is less common is to find those same individuals who recognize ] this and tend to pursuit wisdom as well as intellect. ] ] Kind Regards, ] ] Tim ] ] PS: Please enjoy safe travel during the holiday weekend. I'm heading ] out to stay with family in Tennessee and face a long 10 hour ] drive as well. ] ] +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ] | Tim Bass | #include<campfire.h> | ] | Principal Network Systems Engineer | for(beer=100;beer>1;beer++){ | ] | The Silk Road Group, Ltd. | take_one_down(); | ] | | pass_it_around(); | ] | http://www.silkroad.com/ | } | ] | | back_to_work(); /*never reached */ | ] +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ] ]