Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 10:14:04 -0500
From: mab207-AT-psu.edu (Mark Bower)
Subject: Re: Who We Are


>Come on, give him a break.  I have no idea who Hugh is in "real" life, but he
>has been one of the few people who made the attempt to keep the conversation
>alive here.  Lois was another.  She has apparently disappeared, driven by
>other concerns.  Don't try to drive Hugh away as well.
>
>What's wrong with posting the same message twice?  Even Beckett would repeat
>himself at times.
>

REPLY (to Eric and any unspecified listening others)

On what basis are you appealing to an obligation on my part?  In what sense
can you call US a WE?  (If authorial intent means anything this is a serious
question and not aggressive posturing).

I think one of the reasons that our posts do not resemble a conversation is
that they are too long and cover too much ground.  They appear more as
serial monologue than dialogue (which is not neceassarily bad, it is just
not what I mean when I say "conversation").

I wonder if what "we" are looking for here is something more like Habermas'
"ideal speech."  Wouldn't that be ironic?

Mark