There’s an old saying that “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.”
This “Second Post” was initially written over three years ago as a “placeholder” for what I envisioned being next when I wrote the First Post. [O.K. Check the date on it, and do the math. I’ve decided to try to get a running start on my 2025 Resolutions, by actually posting it to the LETTERS blog.
Over the intervening years that First post has attracted a number of comments. Only a couple have been particularly relevant to the subject of civil discourse. The vast majority showed every evidence of being auto-generated spam. None, until recently, showed any evidence that the first post had actually been read by either human or machine.
The majority of the comments were unsolicited offers for products and/or services. Unless they were offensive, smelled phishy, repeated themselves, or violated the basic concept outlined on the First Post, I deleted them promptly without tagging them as spam. People have to make a living. I try not to judge or be personally offended.
An impressive of number offered products and services of various sorts. A recurring theme from correspondents I hope were female,informed me in so many words that they were waiting patiently for me to hurry home and service them. Whatever, they were “phishing” for. there must be a lot of “phish”. I deleted those.
These kinds of on-line shenanigans are not new. It’s been over three decades, and I’m still pondering what primitive data mining and proprietary customer relations management algorithms concluded that I was in the market for sports bras and gen-u-ine Cuban Cohiba cigars. For about 6 months I could count on getting half e-mails a day on one or the other or both. (Never both in the same email–the visual on that is really disturbing.)
There have been only a couple mildly outrageous personal flames. My initial reaction post them outstanding bad examples uncivil discourse. But that would have set its own egregious example for mean-spirited discourse. Despite my best intentions comes all too naturally to me without indulging that impulse.
A couple of positive comments were deeply appreciated at the time, and not forgotten. Kai’s is still posted. The other sadly, was revealed to a phishing expedition when I started analyzing posts for recurring domain names and IP addresses.
Grace and Peace.
James Hargrove