Some other equally boring pages from Vexen:
The Reasons
People like disclaimers. More accurately, unimaginative people like disclaimers. I recognize that when someone says something to me there is a possibility they are wrong. If somebody tells me something, it has first been filtered, translated, stored, recalled, re-interpreted and then re-transmitted by a Human Being (not an infallible machine) therefore I am happy to acknowledge that communication always brings miscommunication, and things I myself say might actually be wrong from time to time. I'm under no delusion.
The Disclaimer and Excuses Section
- Immaturity and Opinionated
- Fallibility - I am not infallible!
- Spelling & spelling mistakes - plenty of them!
- Content
- Quotes - third person references
- Disclaimer
- Offensive content - some text may insult people
- Argumentative
- Criticism
- Cutting and pasting from my sites to email/usenet/debates
- My LiveJournal usage policy and disclaimer!
- Copyright notice
- Don't embed images from my servers
1. Immaturity and Opinionated
There's no beating around the bush... some of my pages are opinionated, arrogant and immature. So be warned, ok!
2. Fallibility
The information I portray to you may be wrong. As a Human Being I have a right to make mistakes! Sometimes I may have been misinformed myself. I could have read an ill-researched book, or somebody could have lied. Perhaps it's a conspiracy to deceive that has caused it. No matter what the reason is, sometimes I get things wrong. I rectify mistakes upon becoming aware of them.
"[Vexen] Needs academic discipline to control his intellectual exuberance."
A J Saddler, Headmaster, 1996 March
3. Spelling Mistakes
I make spelling mistakes and English errors. It happens to the best of us. I don't mind if people tell me, "you've made a spelling mistake", because I prefer to know about it so I can correct it rather than have it sit there. The immature beings (especially on usenet) who think that spelling is important, however, are deluded. There are lots of ways of spelling, or "putting" things, although I prefer to be accurate as long as it is clear then it doesn't matter if there's a spelling mistake.
From 2001 I have been spell checking and correcting earlier mistakes as I find them. My new essays are nearly always fully spell checked! In retrospect this quote from a school report (10 years ago) is amusing and relevant:
"[Vexen] is quiet in class, but is an industrious worker. His imagination is easily fired and he writes with real flair, using good vocabulary to express himself. He writes at length and presents his work well. Obviously he thinks about things and has an individual mind. His weakness is spelling. I want [Vexen] to use the dictionary, to check spellings and to check his final draft after completion"
Gilliam Tomlinson, English teacher report 1992-July
I generally write in English, not American. I have sometimes received emails from Americans pointing out spelling mistakes which have turned out to be correct in English; but not in American. However some words I spell in a way that could be considered American. For example I spell "behavior" without a "u", in English it is spelt "behaviour". The same with "color". I don't know why I prefer to drop the "u" from these and similar words, but I do.
There are some words that are more efficient when spelt the American way, such as "thru". In English this is spelt "through". The reason I do not adopt the American spelling of this word is that "thru" in English is an "immature" word that only children use, or perhaps used as a shortcut spelling on SMS messages, etc.
4. Content
There is lots of content on my pages. 99% of it is written by me, Vexen, i.e., it is written from my point of view. Feel free to argue, people have tried in the past and guess what? Sometimes they're right. So give it your best shot! Do not accept anything I say as the final word but go forth and try to prove it wrong. That way at least you'll know if it's true.
5. Quotations
There are lots of things that I claim other people have said and done. I really do think they have said or done that which I say they have! That said, given the precarious and subjective view of the facts of this world that we receive through our tenuous nervous system I could be mistaken. Nothing that I say of other people can be considered to be true unless you double check.
During quotations, elements in square brackets, such as [...] represent my own insertions or deletions. [...] means I have removed a portion of the text. This can be anything from a sentence, to whole paragraphs. It is done for clarity, and I try to follow academically wise protocols in such things. [Words] - words inside square brackets mean I have inserted words to make the quote easier to understand. Always feel free to ask me for references and further information on quotes.
6. Disclaimer
I am a provider of information. What people decide to do with that information is out of my hands, and not my responsibility! People should take into account the long term consequences of their actions and I provide information to help with people's lives as best I can.
7. Offensive Content
If the information on any of my pages offends, insults, etc, someone then so be it. There are so many people that everything written will insult someone. But I don't do it on purpose and any such insult is not an attack on any individual. Let me know and I might change the wording of the text, in order to avoid insulting you any more. So don't be shy.
8. Argumentative
I have an argumentative style of writing. I can come across as a patronizing, self righteous harsh bastard. Try to get over the style of the arguments, and just analyse the actual logic. I've been getting better at this as I go along... and I'm managing to keep the perceived smug factor down... but many of my older essays have a "holier than thou" atmosphere about them.
9. Criticism
I thrive on factual arguments. To argue with strong arguments is my favorite method of learning. I have no problems with admitting that I'm made a mistake. I've made mistakes in the past and will continue to do so.
You cannot annoy me by having a differing opinion. Even if you can't "prove" something, but have a different point of view I like to hear it. If you do a web page I'll link it in the relevant place, or quote you. Use the Contact Vexen! page! Anything that makes people think is good.
"I think acceptance of personal criticism is an essential part of self development. I think being able to automatically accept criticism is better than automatically rejecting it."
Vexen Crabtree, "Criticism", 2002 Sep 01
10. Cutting and pasting from site to email/usenet/debates
The initial point behind many of my pages is that I found myself writing the same things to people, and answering the same questions. So sometime I decided to write out these things on a web page, that I could cut and paste from at any time.
Sometimes in conversation by email I will quote from web pages (perhaps extensively). Don't get insulted. It's the point of my web pages. I have a back injury through RSI which isn't likely to go away. In order to perform less keystrokes, I need to make each one more effective! Hence cut-and-paste, even in personal conversations.
11. LiveJournal
About how I use LiveJournal! And my friends policy, etc!.
12. Copyright
All pages are Copyright Vexen Crabtree. All rights reserved.
If you want to copy any of my text, then quote and attribute it properly. If you want to put any images I have created on your site, then contact me and ask! There are widely used legal precedents for taking reasonably sized quotations from published material and using them as long as you properly attribute it.
13. Don't embed images from my servers
If you want to use an image from my server, copy the image to one of your own stores on the Internet. Do not merely embed my image into your page or profile. When I notice an image getting hits from alien servers, I will rename the image, which means the image on your profile will disappear and break. It steals my (precious) bandwidth when you steal images like that, and is bad netiquette.
