From: "John Michael Stevens" <joyfulnoise@uswest.net>
To: <balloondeco@balloonhq.com>
Subject: Re: Your First Impression
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 06:03:52 -0700

Apparently, some people have, not only a problem expressing themselves in
English, but understanding it also.  It's always amazing to me how many
people can read through something, and not be able to tell you what the
point of it was.  My comments were not meant to criticize anyone's grammar
or spelling on this list (on the contrary, the Internet is the ONLY place
where a person can get away with these errors), only to offer a suggestion
for those who need it, WHEN THEY ARE READY TO CREATE THEIR PROMOTIONAL
MATERIALS, OR WRITE A BUSINESS LETTER.  Surely, you know if you are one of
these, or not?

> But . . . . my views are that this list is for artistic people that are
trying to create, share, assist and build with each other.  True . . . I
have been on this list for just a few months, I am not currently a CBA (but
working towards it) and I have only been in business for 11 years.  I do
feel, however, that those who want to share their thoughts and views are
trying to express themselves (sometimes typing with only two fingers could
feel and take forever!) and to quickly retrieve their responses from this
brilliant list.  If I  decide to read my e-mails a day or two late, I could
receive up to 100 e-mails (I do get more than just this list as e-mails as
well).  In other words, everything takes time, and it's really unfeasible to
type a small document, check the grammer, check the punctuations, check the
indentations, and then send it (by then, you've received 10 more e-mails).
In other words, I feel that this is not a college paper (did you check your
recent e-mail befor!
> e you sent it? check again - smile)

Yes, I did re-read my post before I sent it out, several times, in fact.
Was there a problem that you found?

> In other words, I feel that everyone should lighten up alittle (just a
bit).

The ones who should "lighten up" are the ones who take out of context the
comments of others, and who can't seem to understand the point of what is
being said.

> I believe that your mail was not intended to offend anyone . . . just a
whisper of advise.  I sincerely hope that you do not take offense as well.

I'm glad that you think I didn't mean to offend anyone, because that is
exactly what I said.

That's one of  the great things about the Internet, and these lists...we
usually don't have to worry about someone correcting our grammar, or
spelling.  And when you publish a brochure, or send off a letter, perhaps no
one will tell you of your errors, but they will notice, and they may take
their  business eleswhere.  This is why I answered the many requests for
marketing/promotional tips the way I did.  In case you are one of those who
didn't grasp the point of what I posted, here it is again, in a "nutshell:"
If you have problems in the area of spelling, grammar, etc., get help when
it comes time to put together your "promotional package," or when you need
to write a letter.  That's it.

Thank you once again to one and all,

John Michael Stevens, CBA