On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 09:10:30 -0800 (PST)
David Mitchell wrote:


Isn't it nice to see members of this group amicably resolve issues
between them - even though there wasn't any issue in the first place!
One of the problems of the internet is that it's easy to
misinterpret, something today's generation will find increasingly
difficult as social media continues to dominate personal interaction.
Maybe we should set up uk.sci.weather.skype? Honestly, I'm not being
serious, it's far too scary a thought.

Very true; that's why emoticons were invented - so that emotions could
be put across that might not be apparent from the bare text. However,
I've been party to many misunderstandings where people have
misunderstood each other when talking face to face, so I'm afraid that
even uk.sci.weather.skype wouldn't help.

There have been times when I've seen that someone was annoyed so I've
asked them why. They've started a reply and then stopped. I've waited
for them to continue to the point that annoyed them and they've stared
and me, looking angrier still, and eventually blurted out "Well?!" to
which I've had to reply, "Well what?" for I've seen nothing in what
they've said for anyone to get annoyed about. Sometimes, I've asked
them to repeat what the problem was and still I've heard nothing for
them to get sore about. In the end, instead of me cooling them down,
they're mad at me as well.

One example was when someone returned to work after lunch and I could
see they were steaming so, fool that I was, I asked them what was
wrong. The conversation went something like this:

Annoyed person: "I'd gone into a shop and an assistant came over and
said, 'can I help you, sir?'".
[Pregnant pause]
Me: "And?"
AP: "AND WHAT?!"
Me: "Well, what happened to get you annoyed?"
AP: "I'VE TOLD YOU!"
Me: "You mean that you were annoyed because the assistant asked you if
you needed any help?"
AP: "OF COURSE!"
Me: "Sorry, but I still don't get it. I might be annoyed if an
assistant didn't come over to offer help but otherwise I see no
problem."

At this point, again, I think it was a toss-up as to who "AP" was more
annoyed with, the shop-assistant or me. Actually, by that time, I'm
pretty sure it was me.


--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks. [Retd meteorologist/programmer]
http://www.scarlet-jade.com/
I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.
Posted with Claws: http://www.claws-mail.org/