>No offense,

None taken.

>but as I told the students I when I taught
>'Grammar, Punctuation, and Sentence-Structure' at Georgetown
>University, the subject isn't the most interesting in the
>world--and I was reminded of that when I read your, shall we
>say, long-winded post.

Sometimes, a clear and thorough expression requires more than a few words. If the words "sentence structure" in the title of your course were hyphenated, I trust that was not an indication of the course quality. More humor in irony perhaps?

>Again, no offense, but you completely missed the point of my
>post. Try rereading the post, think about it, and ask yourself
>why I put RARELY in caps, and ended my sentence with an
>ellipsis instead of a period. I think the students I taught at
>Canisius College for ten years would have figured it out--and
>most of the editors that go over my writing--published by the
>way-- would as well.

Obvious it was, but the bulk of my post was not directed personally at you. I hope no one else reading my post misunderstood.

>And if you want to get your point across, stop talking down to
>people, especially people you don't know.

Never. Condescension is not in my thinking; nor is defensiveness or a quick 'trigger' finger.

I have been writing
>fiction that gets published for 30 years now, and I write
>nonfiction for the Boston Globe ('Harvard for Tourists' (where
>I finished my MA in English)) for example), the Football
>Digest ('Bill Polian NFL GM'), Gallery Magazine ('The History
>of Beer'), etc., etc., etc. And I write occasionally for the
>Buffalo News, e.g. "Toronto's Best Pubs" (McVeigh's
>Tavern on Church was my favorite btw); I take offense at your
>telling me what to read--it's condescending, makes you look
>haughty, and shouldn't be on Nikonians.

Argument based on statements of qualification is meaningless. My role on Nikonians, if it can be called such a thing, is to contribute full and accurate thought and clearly described experience and fact, and at the same time to benefit by reading and learning from other Nikonians as much as I can in the process. I work hard to express myself clearly, but never do so by derogating others. I take responsibility for not depersonlizing my post sufficiently to avoid offending you. Please accept my apology. I apologize doubly if my post was read by others as you read it.

>In case you still haven't figured out the post that offended
>your literary sensibility the use of caps on the word
>"rarely" was an examply of something i r o n i c get
>it? I r o n i c!!!! Do you get it now?

Assumption is often a mistake. Instead of assuming my post was some sort of personal attack on you or some sort of personal derogation of your point, engaging in non-insulting discourse would in my opinion have been a more positive, more instructive and more constructive response on your part. Instead, you assumed that which was not intended and you did so without supporting enquiry. That's an egregiously combative mistake in my opinion. You ended your response with sarcasm, condescension and implicit shouting. We can all do better, and apparently you're not exempt from that.

Most of us know that clearly expressed, complex arguments in the context of an online, text-only forum are difficult to write at the best of times and a snake pit at the worst of times. With your touted qualifications, I expect more understanding and patience from you. Once again though, if you feel that my post was some sort of obviously inappropriate and personal attack, then I was insufficiently clear and for that I apologize.

My Nikonians Gallery

Howard Carson, Managing Editor
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