[COFF] Re: [TUHS] Re: The AWK Programming Language, 2nd Ed.: What's new?

[Tomasz Rola <rtomek@ceti.pl>]

On Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 04:28:17PM -0700, Anthony Martin wrote:
> Warren Toomey via TUHS <tuhs@tuhs.org> once said:
> > The history of Unix is not just of the technology, but also of the
> > people involved, their successes and travails, and the communities
> > that they built. Mary Ann referenced a book about her life and
> > journey in her e-mail's .sig. She is a very important figure in the
> > history of Unix and I think her .sig is entirely relevant to TUHS.
> 
> Are you fine with everyone advertising whatever views
> and products they want in their signatures or would I
> have to be a very important figure?

Absolutely not ok with "whatever", no matter how important the
advertiser is. I have some limits myself, so weapon shops, for
example, would not be cool for me, but I do not think I would go so
far as to complain. Well, maybe adverts about non-lawful behaviour or
proposing mass slaughter of wild animals etc could tick me off.

However, I am always looking onto other people's sigs. This helps me
to build a mental model of the person. 

Also, I think there is software to filter such things off, if they are
not desired by someone (to the point that they do not even want to
know about it). Heck, this is a group for Unix groupies and the subject
is AWK.

All in all, if their messages are useful/meaningful and their
signatures are small by comparison and not offensive/distasteful, I do
not think I personally may have much problem, even if maybe I would
not go for a beer with this or that particular sender, because of gray
zone of "not quite offensive but". Or, on a sunny day, I might
actually drink that beer because more optimism about human nature and
everybody deserves a chance.

[...]
> The vast amount of software related to Unix that came
> out of Berkeley was so harmful it should have a
> retroactive Prop 65 label.

You can be sure you would be asked for explanation. BTW if this is not
joke, please explain.

> [Quote from some person completely unrelated to Unix.]

Out of curiosity, is there a quote of Adolf Hitler which would be
related to Unix? Just the first unrelated person which came to my mind...

> [A link to buy my children's picture book about the
> tenuous connection between Unix and the NATO terror
> bombing of Yugoslavia, direct from Jeff Beelzebub's
> bookstore.]

Oh. Does your (inner?) child propose it happened because of Unix or
some software error? From what I have read, there is a chance paper
index cards were more involved in those events than computers. I am
always interested in learning some more (mostly as someone who has
problem with managing personal information rather than a future
would-be planetary dictator).

No offence meant, if you are one of those easily triggered. Mostly, it
is just my curiosity playing.

-- 
Regards,
Tomasz Rola

--
** A C programmer asked whether computer had Buddha's nature.      **
** As the answer, master did "rm -rif" on the programmer's home    **
** directory. And then the C programmer became enlightened...      **
**                                                                 **
** Tomasz Rola          mailto:tomasz_rola@bigfoot.com             **