Re: counterreaction?

On Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:14:16 -0500, Fran Kemmish <fkemmish@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

HVS wrote:
On 07 Mar 2009, the Omrud wrote

fHVS wrote:
On 07 Mar 2009, Steve Hayes wrote

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:46:38 GMT, HVS
<usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 06 Mar 2009, Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:33:02 GMT, HVS
<usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 06 Mar 2009, Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote
Of course there were real examples of bullying, and when
discovered the perps were subject to punishment that
today would be described as actual bodily harm. Also,
the threat of being sent to Borstal was a serious
deterrent. Quite different!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borstal
I'm not sure why you posted this link without any
explanation at all for doing so, but assume you're
correcting his usage of it to refer to reform schools and
such-like.

No correction intended. It was for information only.
Ah; a pitfall of posting a stand-alone and unexplained link,
methinks.
Hardly.

The link was not stand-alone, and was clearly intended to
explain the reference to "Borstal" for those not familiar with
it.
I cannot disagree more: the intent was *not* clear *at all*,
as Peter supplied absolutely no explanation for posting the
link.

Indeed, I took it to be a reprimand to Robin on his usage of
the term, with reference to Wikipee as an authority on the
"correct" meaning.
I took it as an explanation of a term which would not be
familiar to non-Brits or to anybody under 30.

That's apparently the case. I assumed it was more than "For those
of you who don't know what Borstal means, you can find an
explanation on Wikipedia".

If that's all it was, I find the implicit assumption that people
who can find their way to AUE might need help to locate a
definition of something that has its own entry in Wikipedia...well,
patronising, really.

Mileages clearly vary, and everyone else might take it as just
being helpful; it strikes me as a bit insulting.


I find your reaction really puzzling, Harvey.

My impression is that Harvey is a perfectionist. He is acutely aware of
the varying quality and accuracy of Wikipedia articles. Many of us find
Wikipedia useful in spite of its imperfections.


Mileages clearly vary, and everyone else might take it as just
being helpful; it strikes me as a bit insulting.

I hope I am not misrepresenting your position Harvey, but you seem to
find any link to or quotation from Wikipedia almost morally offensive,
or at the very least, irritating and unsettling.

This may affect your judgement regarding the intentions of the person
providing the link or quotation.





I knew what a Borstal was
- apart from normal general knowledge, we had a group of Borstal boys on
a dig I worked on in 1969. I didn't find the posting of the link either
patronising or insulting. I clicked on it, and read the page.

I was also reminded that we used to have a regular poster on aue who
came from the village of Borstal.

Fran



--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
.

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