Ok.. I guess after that last post I should explain my long-standing theory on publishing things in any medium. Especially electronically. I was a traditional college student from 91-95. I got my first email address in 1991, I had a BITNET address, and an internet address. (Before that I dialed BBSs) Yep. I have been on the internet that long. I got my first web page not long after. I also discovered Usenet (aka news groups for the more newly internet savvy). At that time the internet was small, but rapidly growing. There were groups forming for almost every purpose. Then as now there were flame wars. People would start fights just for the purpose of calling people names and expressing negative opinions. I have yet to fully understand this phenomena even though personally I like a good argument. Maybe it's because these aren't good arguments.

I think what amazed me most was the rude things people would say. As though they were saying them in private. People would write and commit to permanent medium some of the most scathing things. Would you really want your children, or your parents, or grandparents to read this stuff? I always figured making a post to a mailing list, or news group was well pretty much like standing in a big room blindfolded and shouting the same information. Hence when I look back at my old posts (go to groups.google.com and search on an old email address or your own name) I am not embarrassed, well maybe a bit because I was so formal and polite in what is basically a casual medium, but there is nothing out there I wouldn't say to my grandmother, or my nephew (having no children of my own). Can you say the same thing. News seemed transient, after all it old messages disappeared, but people were archiving it, and archiving mailing lists, and BBSs and all sorts of things. Now with the amazing searching power provided by much faster computers, and better search strategies everything you said can be found. Well maybe not if you don't remember your old addresses from anon.penet.fi (you had one didn't you? I know I did.)

What does this all this add up to? Well basically before I publish anything, be it on paper, or electronically I like to stop and think, will I be ashamed of this in 6 weeks, 6 months, 6 years? Not that I am against high speed publishing. I have a blog as you can clearly see. But before you start a flame war over a typo, or a differing opinion about the position of the engine room in the Enterprise NX-01, or insult someone's intelligence, parentage, or personal habits, stop and think.

Go try it, search for old email addresses... it is insightful to see what interested you years ago, if you were out there. If not, pick a participant in a flame war you are watching, search on their old posts, and see what you could become.