In a message dated 01-10-14 18:33:28 EDT, Kenneth B. Brown wrote: << ...but certainly not go out of one's way to make a colleague feel stupid. For someone to believe that deliberately demeaning others is a right granted by higher authority, or even merely granted by participation on this listserve, or holds the First Amendment high and says it gives us the right to deliberately make colleagues feel stupid, to non-constructively criticize colleagues with the sole purpose of demeaning another human being and providing absolutely no constructive advice, is beyond understanding. >> Whoa. Now who's being harsh? But as the person who made the nasty, vile, contemptible, uncollegial remark about poor reading habits (and who, I discover to my humiliation, has poor writing habits, apparently having failed to include the first letter of my last name in my signature), I plead semi-guilty. "Semi" because it was merely a failed attempt at humor (note the Woody Allen reference) rather than unconstructive criticism. I thought it was a gentler alternative to the suggestion that anyone was being stupid or that anyone else was accusing anyone of stupidity. Also, contrary to Mr. Bernat's assertion, I didn't question his ability to read. I only mentioned reading habits, having jumped to the conclusion that he just wasn't bothering to read down to the bottom of the messages to find the "unsubscribe" procedure. I admit that this was an unwarranted suspicion. I do think, however, that it would have been helpful if Mr. Bernat had qualified his request with the information that he had already tried, unsuccessfully, to use the unsubscribe procedures found at the bottom of every MUSEUM-L message. Then no one, myself included, would have had any reason to joke or complain at Mr. Bernat's expense. I should think it would also be useful for Dr. Chadwick to know that his instructions sometimes don't work, and perhaps the repeating message could be replaced with advice that actually does work. This would help make the world a nicer place. I shall take your critique to heart, Mr. Brown. But are you sure you're not overreacting just a wee bit? David Haberstich ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).