Re: TRM - Morbidity has set in, or not?

Keith H Duggar wrote:

> Dawn, I only "met" you several days ago through your
> postings dating back a few years. Therefore, try to take
> this as a concerned outsider's opinion. From the summary
> of your posting above, do you not see how some have come to
> see you as "self-aggrandizing"?

Hi Keith --
[After reading your last statement, I see that everything I wrote here does not take into account your suggestion, but the topic is also not database theory. I will see what I can do when discussing or asking questions in the future, however. I do not know how to express an opinion as if were the truth, as others do, and, in fact, have made it a policy to try to ensure the reader can tell the difference, but I will research that style of writing before I post again. My response to your above statement is below.]

Because in my real life I never hear comments of this nature, because the person who has said that of me says that about everyone who approaches the topic from a standpoint other than his (the RM), and because there is only one person who does say that, I was ignoring it as a reflection of the author and not me. But if you are thinking this sounds at all accurate, I certainly would want to rectify it.

I will try harder to be clear, as I have been in the past, that I consider my own opinions flawed, that I am here seeking answers to database theory questions rather than thinking I have all the answers, that I know I am not yet even consistent in my opinions (typing being an example where I have not made my own thinking clear), but that my questions are the legitimate questions of someone looking to understand.

My questions are also not within relational theory, but in the application of relations as an exclusive way of modeling database data.  Because I am not writing database theory, but seeking to understand why what I know of database theory does not align with what I have seen with database practice, I give examples from practice when expressing opinions and asking questions. Then it should be clear to the reader that I am not stating an absolute, but rendering an opinion. There are many opinions stated as facts in this forum and I have tried not to contribute to that.

> If not, allow me to suggest one simple technique for you to
> experiment with. The next time you post, read over the draft
> and try to remove all occurrences of the word "I", not in a
> trivial fashion of course, but rather with introspection.

Stating opinions as absolutes is arrogant and misleading. Does that sentence work? I trust you can see the humor in using that statement to give this a spin. With my own style, I would have said "It seems to me that stating opinions as absolutes is arrogant and misleading." BB even makes his statements about me, never having met me, as if they were the truth, rather than simply his opinion, flawed as it may be. I recognize there are some who prefer that style of writing and will give it a spin when I engage the subject matter again. If I find the technique too hard to master or am too offended by it myself, I will simply chat with those who are willing to engage in the dialogue while letting me be me.

Thanks for your suggestion, as that is much more enlightening and helpful than simply slamming me. Cheers! --dawn Received on Tue May 16 2006 - 16:14:28 CEST