I wonder how many people read these journals. Oh, I know that 101 registered users of the site have me marked as their friend and I guess that most of them read most of my entries, but I wonder how many lurkers there are.
On Thursday I wrote about how I didn't get to work my first day at my new contract because they weren't quite ready for me. When I (really) started work on Friday I discovered that quite a number of people in the office had read that journal entry. I guess I'll have to be more careful what I write in future :)
/me waves at all the lurkers at AMPLE
From an email I recently received from a lurker (and an ex-coworker):
You can go to ******* ****. My opinion of you? Your writing is ****, you don't have a creative bone in your body, you are a coward, a bigot, you are one of those pale, loathsome **** who slides along in the shadows of self-respect, building up his fragile ego by bashing others.
This same individual also wrote that he's "suddenly very interested in watching [me] bleed". I never can understand what impels some people to behave this way, but now I get to experience it firsthand. It seems that he read an old journal entry where I and a coworker were expressing frustration with someone else's code and wrote "we need to take a club to this guy". I explained that it was merely a comment born of frustration after a long day of work and that it was not a threat and that I don't have -- and never did have -- any intention of harming him, but he didn't care. The lurker assumed that we were talking about him and talked about putting a bullet in my brain and said he would explain to others that it was "self-defense" because I was threatening him.
It appears to be virtually impossible to be honest. If everything one says and writes isn't reflective of some Pollyanna attitude, then someone is going to see red.
Re:Not always good, though ...
brian_d_foy on 2002-12-17T20:20:11
You do not have a problem with being honest, but one with being wise. Why would you ever post to a public forum that you would want to "take a club to this guy"? If you threaten bodily harm to someone in public, in even jest to your friends, what do you really expect?
You messed up, and you almost apologized to the guy. You "explained". You messed up, and from what you just said in public, it does not sound like you want to take responsibility for it or feel bad that you did it. You should feel remorse, but you do not.
Now, if the same person reads this, you will have even more problems with this guy, and possibly people he knows, works with, and people you might have to work with. You have even damaged your reputation with people unrelated to that incident.
This sort of thing has been on my mind this month because I see a lot of this attitude here---blame everyone but yourself. You blew it. We all blow it at some time. You; however, attacked him again! Despite his vitriol, it appears that he is right, and you have only made the problem worse.
Let's make use.perl a nice place to be. Your comment does not do that.Mea culpa
Ovid on 2002-12-17T20:33:22
Thanks for setting me straight. You're right. I was shocked at his response and as a result, I approached that situation the wrong way. I'll send him an email apologizing.
Re:Not always good, though ...
pudge on 2002-12-18T04:15:07
Screw you!
Hoping that your words won't be seen is simply relying on security through obscurity.
