Foreign Language Posting & efficiently pertinent messages

[Robert R. Daniel]

Just a slight addendum in English to my attempt to
respond wittily in French to a message about foreign
language postings.

Paul is right in that it is abusive for folks to
post exceedingly long and, perhaps, inappropriate
messages to the list if those messages are not really
pertinent to the core interest and -- if I may --
the "culture" of the list.  The long "Hallo Leute"
posting does not seem to have been a pertinent or
appealing message for most folks on the list. So
it may not have been most appropriately addressed
to the list as a whole.

What provoked my reaction in French was the notion
that foreign language postings are entirely inappro-
priate.  They are no more appropriate or inappropriate
per se than other rambling, off-topic, quote-heavy,
silly, ridiculous and/or flaming posts.

Finally, I must admit my bias:  I am a professor of
(you guessed it) French.  I also consider myself a
cosmopolitan citizen of the world and I wish more
Americans were cognizant of, sensitive to and, most
of all, friendly toward foreign cultures and languages,
including points of view and ways of expressing and
seeing things that are radically different from
typical American thinking.  Being an enthusiastic
foreign-language speaker in the U.S. is a bit like
being a Mac Addict in a PeeCee World.