Quote:
Originally posted by Dave Hensley
I don't think anyone is looking for Carl (or his associates at eumpire.com) to be their sensitivity trainer. But we are adults, we are fellow umpires, and we are, in many cases, paying customers of the site that sponsors this discussion forum. It is both good business sense and common decency for the editor of eumpire.com and his staff to treat participants in this forum with courtesy and respect at all times, even in disagreement.
I take Carl's post as a pledge to try harder to meet that standard. I applaud him for that commitment, and I hope his leadership by example will instill a kinder and gentler approach from everyone else for whom the shoe fits.
And, to paraphrase Vito Corleone, let it be known that I will not be the one to break the peace that has been made here today. 
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Dave,
You want to be treated "
with courtesy and respect at all times, even in disagreement." So you SHOULD be! This is one of those (apparently) rare subjects upon which we agree 100%. Now, having said that, isn't the corollary equally true? Aren't Carl and his staff writers, including me, entitled to be treated with equal "
courtesy and respect at all times, even in disagreement"?
I urge you to consider that for the very reasons that you expressed - namely good business sense and common decency - the pressure has
always been on US from the outset to be courteous where courtesy was lacking and to show respect where none was given. It has only been in the last week that both Carl and I have thrown off the shackles and determined to give as good as we got in general discussions. That was, BTW, a decision apparently arrived at simultaneously yet quite independently. In my case it followed the absence of any guidelines on the subject from the board owners, and an increasing incidence of nastiness in posts directed at US!
I asked, quite some time ago now, for a voluntary code of conduct to be adopted in this Forum with respect to posts addressing the editor and staff writers. It was wrongly assumed that I was demanding unquestioning respect for our views. Will you now, for your part, promise to desist from finding
ad hominem attacks in almost everything we post which disagrees with your viewpoint? Please, Dave, move on to finding
ad misericordiam arguments at least, for pity's sake! Here's your chance right here! (BIG grin)
Look, this IS a serious issue; make no mistake. I want the tone of this board to be at least CIVIL if not downright respectful! We are ALL officials, I believe, with experience of having to face unwarranted criticism in pursuing our avocation. Why visit it upon ourselves in this Forum? The point is EVERYONE has to participate, and those who refuse MUST be quickly ostracised for the good of the whole. Even one dissenter will bring the voluntary code of conduct undone, eventually.
Dave, never doubt that "the shoe fits" even YOU! And don't be mistaken, I know only too well that Vito Corleone was plotting a bloody revenge for Santino's death even as he spoke those noble words! Now, can we REALLY put away the swords and deal respectfully with one another, or is this just another instance of the pot calling the kettle black?
Cheers,