At 08:25 PM 9/25/97 -0400, Randy Leedy wrote:
>>May I venture a word on this thread that, while having little or
>>nothing to do with Greek, has much to do with the character and
>>operation of the list?
>>
>>I understand Andrew's perplexity, having myself sensed that many of
>>my posts have not received the attention I thought they warranted.
>This surprises and concerns me. When I think of the people who
>really know Greek, Randy and Don are definitely high on my list, and
>I have learned a lot from them. I had assumed that they were posting
>less because they were busy with other things.
No need for concern, Jonathan, as though there is something wrong
that needs setting right. No individual on B-Greek has ever
communicated anything offensive to me, at least not that I recall.
Time is a very big factor. When I wrote something like "I will post
when I think I have something worth saying," I mean both that the
idea itself is worthwhile in my opinion and that it is worth taking
scarce time to write up.
>Speaking for myself, I *have* found that some kinds of posts receive
>more attention than others. Posts which are short and to the point,
>and which raise an interesting question, tend to get responses.
>Posts which are longer, and which try to explain something in depth,
>often get less of a response. Naturally, questions get more
>responses than answers. If anyone feels ignored, it might be
>worthwhile to observe the differences between posts that people
>respond to and posts that they do not respond to.
You've hit me here: I'm better at verbosity than at condensation.
But, of course, we all know of long posts that, due to both their
source and their intrinsic merit, generate a lot of discussion.
>>First, I conclude that my posts apparently tend not to connect with
>>the interests or viewpoints of many on the list, at least not among
>>those who post frequently.
>Well, I think that I post frequently, and I have found many of your
>posts very interesting. I would welcome more of them.
Thanks for your kindness. I suppose I'm already saying most of what I
think I have to contribute to the discussions that are already going
on, so if I posted more, I'd either be raising new questions, or I'd
be saying stuff you'd find less interesting or valuable.
I hope this thread itself doesn't play out at length, because I'm not
comfortable pursuing it. Andrew's question served as a prompt to a
useful reality check, I think, and having checked up, I hope I can
now check out.
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In Love to God and Neighbor,
Randy Leedy
Bob Jones University
Greenville, SC
RLeedy@bju.edu
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