From: phantomsteve@hotmail.com   
      
   It's interesting that now I have read the whole of the original   
   thread on Google, I found that you were told by a lot of people that   
   you should *know* that these groups are public forum and anyone can   
   answer...   
      
   Laura:   
   "If you only wanted a response from jms, (who common sense should   
   tell you doesn't have the time to answer questions that pretty much   
   anyone could find out the answers to themselves by doing a tiny bit   
   of independent research) and not from any of the knowledgable people   
   here  who might have the answer, then *why did you post it to this   
   newsgroup*???  Apparently it's news to you, but normally if a person   
   is only interested in addressing an individual there are these things   
   called "email" and "the US Postal Service" that allow one to send a   
   private message to a single individual."   
      
   Jay:   
   "If you had wanted an answer only from joe you would have sent him   
   e-mail.  Posting a public message solicits a public response.  If you   
   don't like that then don't post a public message."   
      
   Eliyaho:   
   "There aren't any private PO Boxes here. You post it in the   
   newsgroup, it's fair play for anyone to respond to it.  I must say   
   that, in all the years I've posted to this newsgroup, this is the   
   first time I've seen anyone get his nose out of joint because the   
   general public responded to a public message. If you want to   
   correspond privately with Joe, he includes his e-mail address in his   
   posts. Feel free to use it, but don't feel shocked if you don't get a   
   reply. Joe isn't any more tolerant of rude, insolent or arrogant   
   people than the rest of us."   
      
   Mad Hamish:   
      
   "It's a discussion newsgroup Smithy. Not a private line to JMS.   
   You don't have to read anybody else's responses to questions to JMS   
   but you shouldn't whinge about getting them."   
      
   Ailsing:   
   "As for replying to a question addressed to Joe, get a clue!  I mean   
   really, how long have you been reading and posting on this newsgroup?   
   As you well know, there are questions posed to Joe here all the time,   
   and whether he has time to reply or not, people here _always_ assume   
   that a question posed publicly is fair game for everyone."   
      
   Barbara:   
   "Concerning your question for jms being answered by other members of   
   this group: I didn't know, yet, that the members of this ng (which   
   means news *group*) are less qualified than jms to answer to your   
   questions!?   
   So honestly: did you really want an answer to your question *or* did   
   you simply want to draw jms's attention on yourself?   
   Please don't ask any more questions here if you perceive answers from   
   people who are not jms as insults."   
      
   ========   
      
   Checking your posting history using your current email address, I   
   find that these threads had responses from several people (including   
   some of the above) BUT you didn't complain then:   
      
   10-Sep-2003 "ATTN JMS: FYI re Sound in Space"   
   23-Jan-2003 "ATTN JMS: Sinclair/Delenn Question"   
   10-Nov-2002 "ATTN JMS: Re "Chrysalis" DVD Commentary"   
   19-Feb-2002 "ATTN JMS: Lord of the Rings Soundtrack Available"   
   11-Jul-2000 "Attn JMS: SF in the 23rd Century"   
      
   These threads had responses from several people, but amongst them was   
   JMS, so I guess the master's response allows you be gracious, eh?   
      
   24-May-2003 "ATTN JMS Re: S2 commentary comment"   
   16-Mar-2003 "ATTN JMS: Kevin Smith Question"   
      
   Threads where *you* responded to someone else's "Attn JMS" post   
   (which I thought you said we shouldn't do?):   
      
   10-Dec-2002 "Attn JMS: What about now?"   
   11-Nov-2002 "Hello& attn: JMS"   
   09-Nov-2002 "Attn: JMS - Any word on DVD sales?"   
   27-Feb-2002 "ATTN JMS/ALL: Did you know that Harlan..."   
   07-Apr-2000 "Attn JMS: Crusade on Sci-Fi - Question"   
   31-Mar-2000 "ATTN JMS: B5 Anthology"   
      
   In fact, the only thread I can find archived where no one else   
   replied instead of JMS to your question was this one:   
      
   10-Nov-2002 "ATTN JMS: Re "Making of B5" Documentary"   
               ('This is the only article in this thread')   
      
   ==========   
      
   Incidently, having read the original thread, *plus* your other   
   postings on the group, I have formed a distinct impression of you.   
      
   However, I won't say what it is, as I am aware that I have not read   
   all your posts in all the groups (I got about 2470 returns from the   
   search).   
      
   Just one word of warning - remember that with Google archiving   
   messages, people can see *exactly* what you said and when, as well as   
   how you responded to them.   
      
   If people try to help using their own knowledge and experience, don't   
   complain just because they are not JMS.   
      
   Also, as one person told you - if many people misinterpret what you   
   have written, it is the *writer* who is responsible for the   
   misunderstanding, not the readers!   
      
   Regards,   
      
   Steve   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)