On Tue, 21 Jun 1994 12:04:14 -0400 P. Divirgilio said:
>In consequence of my last message, our friendly node operators have
>alleviated me of the burden of my normally copious mail by either
>bouncing it or holding it.
 
Disclaimer:  I'm a "node operator", a professional computer programmer
responsible for the operation of vma.cc.nd.edu, aka IRISHVMA in BITNET.
I'm also a LISTSERV postmaster and a list owner.
 
Say, Paul, have you asked your node management about this?  Have they said
that they've done something deliberate to you, or are you assuming that a
lack of e-mail must be the result of a deliberate action against you?  I'm
not familiar with the folks who manage epas.utoronto.ca, so maybe they are
capable of sanctioning you without telling you, let alone telling you why,
but frankly, I doubt most Systems Programmers, Sytems Administrators,
Systems Managers, and others of this class a) would act against you without
saying why and b) would bother taking offense at these activities you
imagine we take so much offense at.
 
Frankly, the paranoia and professional disrespect show systems and network
programmers is staggering!  It'd be like a freshman saying (s)he got a
lousy grade because (s)he asked an embarassing question to the professor.
While it sometimes happens, ought you look for another answer, such as a
routine network blockage, before assuming malice and unprofessional
behaviour from those who support your computing needs?
 
Most of us Systems Programmers realize that we're here to serve our users
and that we have to be able to justify our actions to management and
occasionally outside authorities.  While some of my peers are as cavalier
and arrogant as you stereotype us, a few of us are competent and
professional.
 
End of soapbox lecture.
 
Anyone got any questions about, say, LISTSERV list ownership?
 
Nick Laflamme
Office of University Computing
University of Notre Dame
(219) 631-8271
 
* Intelligence demands reasons, not rules.