Guest guest Posted June 12, 2001 Report Share Posted June 12, 2001 Let us not ridicule "average Americans" ( literal quote from your post) any more than "Hindu fanatics" ( quote from Thompson). The need for a code of ethics for Indology, seems to have the needed support. Private comments by email are also welcome on this topic. INDOLOGY, Lars Martin Fosse <lmfosse@o...> wrote: > Michael Witzel [sMTP:witzel@f...] skrev 12. juni 2001 00:14: > > It is indeed best just to shut up or answer only to serious Indologcial > > questions (maybe better privately!!). > > > > This list has deteriorated beyond description, as was expected when > Dominik > > set it up in this form... Similar excesses on other not moderated lists. > > Forget it. > > With all due respect, this was entirely predictable. That is why some of us > wanted a closed list for professionals in addition to the more popular > fora. The problem is quite simply this: Any Internet forum which is open to > the public at large, will easily attract all sorts of people. In the > progaganda war between various brands of Hindutva ideologues and other > amateurs with other ideological agendas on the one hand and professional > academics on the other, it is obvious that an open scholarly list will be a > target. If professionals are on such a list, they have the option of > shutting up and leaving the show to the amateurs, or they can take > responsibility (as Witzel repeatedly has) and speak up. I personally think > that if you are on a list where the public at large is admitted, it is your > duty to speak up when nonsensical information is being propagated as the > Truth. On the other hand, scholars would need a quiet place where they > could discuss matters of importance to them in peace. Someone suggested an > A- and B-list. The A-list for pros with posting privileges, whereas others > only have reading privileges. The B-list for the general public, where pros > could step in and participate in the general debate to the extent that they > have time and energy for it. > > > This is supposed to be a discussion list, which means, at least in a > > traditional sense, that it is not about scholastic, vivaada style > 'winning' > > a point and about shouting, but about learning something new from each > > other. Well, forget it. > > Please remember that a propaganda war is essentially directed against > intellectual innocents who are not necessarily impressed by strict logic > but by elegance of phrase and street-smartness. Not to mention volume. If > you want to take part in a propaganda war, you must play according to those > rules at least some of the time. In the end, the target for rational > discourse is the person who honestly doesn't know what to think, and who > asks for hard information. There are a few of those around too. And they > are our responsibility. > > Best regards, > > Lars Martin Fosse > > Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse > Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114, > 0674 Oslo > Norway > Phone: +47 22 32 12 19 > Mobile phone: +47 90 91 91 45 > Fax 1: +47 22 32 12 19 > Fax 2: +47 85 02 12 50 (InFax) > Email: lmfosse@o... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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