Re: Dealing with ad hominem attacks in comp.programming

Malcolm McLean said:


"spinoza1111" <spinoza1111@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:49c25863-f55d-4236-b586-2d4811a4053c@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<snip>

Malcolm, the problem is that this newsgroup is absurdly biased. Almost
all examples are in C, and NO examples use object-oriented modern
languages.

That's a perfectly unexceptional observation. However no one is arguing
that object-orientation is not topical here.

Agreed...

It's a controversial
methodology, some hate it, some swaear by it, and comp.programming is,
amongst other things, a forum for that debate.

Agreed...

C programmers do seem to
be in a majority and maybe that isn't a good thing.

....here I'm not so sure. I think it's more likely that C is simply a very
widely-known language. Indeed, it's practically the lingua franca of
programming. Many people who do not actually use C in their programming
nevertheless can read and understand the language.

Your weak reply is "what do you expect?" I think people have a right
to expect certain things, including the truth and basic honesty and
decency, especially here, where there's financial no reason to lie.
You are significantly at fault for the nasty tone of this newsgroup
because you're too cowardly to criticise.

I don't like falling out with people.

Neither do I.

However I don't agree with Heathfield about everything.

This is certainly true. But it is possible to disagree without being
hostile, as we are about to demonstrate...

For instance it was me who pointed out that
fgets() is as dangerous, in its way, as gets(), which is now accepted
wisdom, but was hotly disputed at the time.

I disagree that the above claim is "accepted wisdom". The fgets function
can be used safely, whereas the gets function cannot.

I am leading the campaign
against size_t and the plethora of integer types in C. Again it will take
a while before it is realised that I am right.

It may take longer than you hope. :-)

<snip>

Meanwhile a thread I consider to be more useful, on
adding units to programming language variables, seems to have died.

If it died a natural death (all that needed to be said had been said),
fine. If there's more yet to discuss, why not resurrect it?

But
it's understandable that internal polics get more attention than the
actual programming.

Understandable but nevertheless a time-sucking nuisance.

<snip>

I'm currently off work, so these newsgroups are my major social outlet.
Whilst Usenet is part of real life, online relationships differ from
physical ones. I am not sure whether it is possible to have a real friend
online.

I think it is possible. I am blessed with many friends, and a healthy
proportion of them are friends I've never met! And in a couple of cases, I
have been out for a beer or three with programmers I initially encountered
online.

There is an aspect of ganging up on someone perceived as a fool,
I'd agree.

It can seem like that at times. In practice, I think it's just that Usenet
is asynchronous. So you get several replies posted at about the same time
(ish), all making much the same points about the article that prompted
their replies, because they're not aware that those other replies are also
on the way. That's life on an asynchronous network.

<snip>

[...] Heathfield is
also acknowledgely trying for a leadership position every time he
campaigns for a political candidate. Of course he wants a say in what
that candidate will do if he or she wins.

Actually, Malcolm, that isn't the case, but this isn't the place to discuss
it. If you want me to explain my point in more detail, please drop me an
email.

<snip>

--
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk>
Email: -http://www. +rjh@
Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
.

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