I am subscribed to quite a few mailing lists (“ML”), and procmail is my friend.
A couple of minutes ago a V.I.P. posted absolutely O.T. on webscrapers@cool.haxx.se, and I bet nobody will complain. And I fully agree with that. There is a relaxed and professional atmospherere on that ML, and I like that.
During the last couple of weeks I have been posting “off topic” a couple of times on Berlin related geek MLs, and that was for “good” and rather justifiable reasons. As I already knew, what usually follows is a series of bashings, and I can’t stand that any more after all these years, and I am not willing to either. So I usually ask people to refrain from bashing, and I also threat a little with involving my lawyer.
I also usually tell them beforehand, they should make deliberate use of their Delete button, but that suggestion doesn’t get received well.
It’s sort of funny to compare these different situations. I always, always reckoned, that there is a German tendency of dedicating yourself as the voluntary policeman, although one wasn’t asked to play that role and it’s not even paid. They just do that out of passion. I find that weird and sick.
I can’t remember right now, that I ever saw any such bashing on a non-German mailing list. But it happens on (almost) every German mailing list or newsgroup or whatever. Until recently I thought the German P3rl community is absolutely not like that. I got proven wrong. A couple of minutes ago I got a rather harsh (but at least private) and threatening e-mail from a German P3rl V.I.P. . Let me call him “SR“! That sounded like an ultimatum, and in way like “it’s either you or me“. I am old enough, to not react immediately but rather sleep it over. But still, I think I will tell him: you will go, not me. But you are not going to tell him, are you? I don’t think he will like that answer. But than what choices will he have? And what are his options? Getting sort of violent? I hate violence, but nowadays I do know how to counteract.
This is just one of the many German features, that I don’t want to get identified with abroad. And such shame makes me turn into camouflage mode abroad and on the web to not get recognized as German.
And it also made me switch my Mac keyboard from German to Austrian mode, as I can’t stand my screen showing the German tricolor. I intend to work in Israel starting in the near future, so that’s essential, as you understand.
BTW: not even immigrants in Germany are immune against that “play the policeman” syndrome.
P.S. The incorrect spelling P3erl is quote on purpose for some reason, that I don’t want to get into here and right now.