Apology
Posted by Caroline on February 08, 1998 at 23:45:57:
In response to My apologies..., written by P. Bingham on February 08, 1998 at 20:35:15
First things first.
I have no intention of driving you away. What would be the point? If I wanted you out of here, I would have to say so, and would have done so by now.
Secondly,
Whatever "mistakes" you have made that you have apologized for are irrelevant here. Everyone makes mistakes, grammatical and otherwise, no-one gets wound up about them . No-one expects perfection, no-one gets teased about mistakes, we just go on. I don't think anyone has pulled you up about grammar, have they?
Third, and probably most importantly,
It is my job, as host of this board, to ensure that any information put on here as correct as it can be.
If people put up a list of facts, they put up a source for them as well. You say you don't see many sources cited, but if you look carefully you will see that many people who do not quote directly preface their work with something like "I remember reading somewhere..." or " I think it was the case that....". In other words, they are saying that they believe their statement to be true, but they are giving no guarantees.
The statements you put up came with neither a reference nor a caveat. They happen to be wrong, or at the very least, misleading. But even if they were right, you could still expect to be asked for sources, if not by me, then by someone else !(The facts themselves, of course, are almost two hundred years old, so the age of my notes, and yours, is hardly important.) This is the usual reason you have been asked for sources before.
If you think this is an unreasonable policy , you are, of course , at liberty to say so. So is anyone else .
I am not above criticism. Anyone may express a difference of opinion . I am quite sure that if anyone else thinks I am out of line, they will say so.
I don't intend to remove your message from the board, unless you specifically ask me to. I don't control anyone's work here but my own. Any one reading this board, whether a regular poster or one of our many thousands of lurkers, has to make their own minds up about what they read here. If you, yourself, want me to remove it, you can ask me by e-mail, post on this board, or ask on the Help! Board.
And lastly, ...No, I don't take your message about my manners personally.
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