RE: The "JDGI" file grows

From: Lars Kristan (lars.kristan@hermes.si)
Date: Sat Jan 22 2005 - 03:43:01 CST

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    Mark Leisher wrote:

    > Over the years this forum has seen the occasional appearance
    > of people who
    > JDGI (Just Don't Get It), or in simpler words, are "unable to
    > follow a chain
    > of reasoning." Having two in one month is a special occasion.
    >
    > Let me be succinct: please stop talking about these topics.
    > One side will
    > never understand, and the other will never understand why.
    > You are wasting
    > everybody's time and mailbox space.
    >
    > Thank you for your attention.

    The question is - who is it that doesn't get it.

    An analogy:

    Suppose we were talking about BE and LE. You would say that BE is superior.
    I say I think LE is superior. Next, you say BE is all we need. I say LE is
    useful for me and also that LE is already in use. You insist that only BE
    should be in the standard since it is all we need.

    Notice the next thing I say is NOT that only LE should be in the standard. I
    say we have to learn to live with both, at least until one dissapears. And I
    say you need to provide a little room for LE and I will provide a little
    room for BE.

    You keep insisting BE is all we need.

    Now, in the above scenario, who would be the one that doesn't get it? Unless
    you do get it but are deliberately obstructing me. And don't take the "you"
    and "me" part personally. They're just for the sake of argument. After all,
    I can't even make out clearly which side you're on. But I am supposing I am
    one of those two people.

    The standard should provide enough room for each of the concepts, so they
    can evolve and prove themselves. And here I no longer mean LE and BE, that
    was already taken care of. Sorta.

    To prevent confusion, let me clarify the analogy:
    "BE" - stands for the approach making a clear distincion between text and
    binary data;
    "LE" - stands for the approach that sometimes processes text as bytes,
    sometimes bytes as text, and text strictly as text only when it needs to;
    "you" - stands for the people defending "BE" as the only thing the standard
    will provide for, they could be called "purists".
    "me" - stands for the people requesting an equal opportunity for "BE" and
    "LE", they could be called "liberals".

    Lars



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