Comments on: On being vague in the online medium, with no apology http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/ A librarian, writer and educator reflecting on the profession and the tools we use to serve our patrons Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:11:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 By: Steven M. Cohen http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/comment-page-1/#comment-38796 Steven M. Cohen Tue, 31 Jan 2006 14:39:29 +0000 http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/?p=357#comment-38796 Meredith, you wrote: "Steven Cohen’s “diatribe” from December is a great example of a post that offers no specifics, probably annoyed a lot of people, and confused a good number of his readers. When I read a post like that, I honestly feel like unsubscribing to the blog." Did you unsubscribe? If so, I'm sorry. If you didn't, I wonder why? I think I'm allowed to be a bit vague every now and then. Blogging can be a stress reliever and that's what I use it for sometimes. I certainly feel much better after writing those two posts. Maybe it will even make me a better blogger... Meredith, you wrote:

“Steven Cohen’s “diatribe” from December is a great example of a post that offers no specifics, probably annoyed a lot of people, and confused a good number of his readers. When I read a post like that, I honestly feel like unsubscribing to the blog.”

Did you unsubscribe? If so, I’m sorry. If you didn’t, I wonder why? I think I’m allowed to be a bit vague every now and then. Blogging can be a stress reliever and that’s what I use it for sometimes. I certainly feel much better after writing those two posts. Maybe it will even make me a better blogger…

]]> By: rino’s wpblog » Hmmm, http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/comment-page-1/#comment-38784 rino’s wpblog » Hmmm, Tue, 31 Jan 2006 09:53:21 +0000 http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/?p=357#comment-38784 [...] Nice quote for a first post… ” I’m not a big believer in the notion that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, but I do believe that if you can’t be specific about what you want to discuss on your blog, don’t write it. If you have to explain what you wrote after the fact, then you should have been more specific in the first place.” [...] [...] Nice quote for a first post… ” I’m not a big believer in the notion that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, but I do believe that if you can’t be specific about what you want to discuss on your blog, don’t write it. If you have to explain what you wrote after the fact, then you should have been more specific in the first place.” [...]

]]> By: rino’s wpblog » Hmmm, http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/comment-page-1/#comment-38783 rino’s wpblog » Hmmm, Tue, 31 Jan 2006 09:51:33 +0000 http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/?p=357#comment-38783 [...] Nice <a href=”http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/”>quote</a> for a first post…<blockquote>” I’m not a big believer in the notion that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, but I do believe that if you can’t be specific about what you want to discuss on your blog, don’t write it. If you have to explain what you wrote after the fact, then you should have been more specific in the first place.”</blockquote> [...] [...] Nice <a href=”http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/”>quote</a> for a first post…<blockquote>” I’m not a big believer in the notion that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, but I do believe that if you can’t be specific about what you want to discuss on your blog, don’t write it. If you have to explain what you wrote after the fact, then you should have been more specific in the first place.”</blockquote> [...]

]]> By: Robert Edwards http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/comment-page-1/#comment-38637 Robert Edwards Sun, 29 Jan 2006 06:17:17 +0000 http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/?p=357#comment-38637 I read "On being vague in the online medium, with no apology." I use the services of reference librarians frequently. I am visually challenged and memory challenged (I have a history of severe blows to the head). More often than not, when reference librarians try to teach me how to do some technical research, reservation or printing process, I don't get it. (However, I am slowly making progress.) I found your website in the October, 2005, issue of Library Journal. So, I wasn't sure what a blog was, but now I have a few clues. Hopefully, I will have enough time to return to your web site. My goal is to read, at my own slow pace, about reference librarian work. I hope to thereby get over whatever obstacles are preventing me from learning from face-to-face reference-librarian encounters and/or discover new research technologies. (The key is reading at my own pace, as constrasted with catching something on the run between the person in front of me and the person behind me in the reference librarian line.) I did not have an e-mail account. When I found out I could not send this comment without an e-mail address, then I asked our 20 year-old son to help me get the above e-mail address. In the past, I have not had much success in using e-mail. I would, however, like to change that problem since I need to learn how to use e-mail to take more college classes. I read “On being vague in the online medium, with no apology.” I use the services of reference librarians frequently. I am visually challenged and memory challenged (I have a history of severe blows to the head). More often than not, when reference librarians try to teach me how to do some technical research, reservation or printing process, I don’t get it. (However, I am slowly making progress.) I found your website in the October, 2005, issue of Library Journal. So, I wasn’t sure what a blog was, but now I have a few clues. Hopefully, I will have enough time to return to your web site. My goal is to read, at my own slow pace, about reference librarian work. I hope to thereby get over whatever obstacles are preventing me from learning from face-to-face reference-librarian encounters and/or discover new research technologies. (The key is reading at my own pace, as constrasted with catching something on the run between the person in front of me and the person behind me in the reference librarian line.) I did not have an e-mail account. When I found out I could not send this comment without an e-mail address, then I asked our 20 year-old son to help me get the above e-mail address. In the past, I have not had much success in using e-mail. I would, however, like to change that problem since I need to learn how to use e-mail to take more college classes.

]]> By: Dorothea http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/comment-page-1/#comment-38544 Dorothea Fri, 27 Jan 2006 17:57:41 +0000 http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/?p=357#comment-38544 Eh. It's a tradeoff. I sometimes play the vague card. I do it when I'm a lot more interested in discussing (and, let us hope, resolving) a problem than in casting aspersions at specific people. And here, let me give an example: I've got a post in the pipeline -- a long way down the pipeline -- that will exemplify this approach, and I hope partially justify it. How's that for vague? :) Eh. It’s a tradeoff. I sometimes play the vague card. I do it when I’m a lot more interested in discussing (and, let us hope, resolving) a problem than in casting aspersions at specific people.

And here, let me give an example: I’ve got a post in the pipeline — a long way down the pipeline — that will exemplify this approach, and I hope partially justify it. How’s that for vague? :)

]]> By: Steve Lawson http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2006/01/27/on-being-vague-in-the-online-medium-with-no-apology/comment-page-1/#comment-38541 Steve Lawson Fri, 27 Jan 2006 15:56:09 +0000 http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/?p=357#comment-38541 Don't forget Cohen's "Brain Freeze," the ne plus ultra of "I could blog this but I'd have to kill you" posts: http://www.librarystuff.net/2005/12/brain-freeze.html That one cracks me up every time. When a blogger you like rips on unspecified people, it's possible to just email them and say "what are you talking about?" Most library bloggers are pretty accessible, after all. I tried this recently with a blogger I greatly enjoy and respect. She had written a post that I found confusing; she was ripping on someone, but I wasn't sure who or why. I emailed her and she sent me a great reply, even though she didn't know me at all. Now, I might prefer that she had been more specific in her original post, but at least I now feel like I understand her point of view *and* I didn't start a flame war *and* I started a brief correspondence that I hope will continue in the future. Which is not just to say "yay me!"; I have let rip more times than I care to remember on listservs and the like. I expect this is a lesson I'll have to learn again and again. Lastly, it occurred to me that another faux quote for the head of this post could be "I have here in my hand a list of 57 bloggers known to me to be members of the anti-Library-2.0 party..." Now I'm not saying that Abram or Cohen or anyone is equivalent to McCarthy, I just think that those echoes are part of what we object to in these sweeping statements. Don’t forget Cohen’s “Brain Freeze,” the ne plus ultra of “I could blog this but I’d have to kill you” posts: http://www.librarystuff.net/2005/12/brain-freeze.html

That one cracks me up every time.

When a blogger you like rips on unspecified people, it’s possible to just email them and say “what are you talking about?” Most library bloggers are pretty accessible, after all. I tried this recently with a blogger I greatly enjoy and respect. She had written a post that I found confusing; she was ripping on someone, but I wasn’t sure who or why. I emailed her and she sent me a great reply, even though she didn’t know me at all. Now, I might prefer that she had been more specific in her original post, but at least I now feel like I understand her point of view *and* I didn’t start a flame war *and* I started a brief correspondence that I hope will continue in the future.

Which is not just to say “yay me!”; I have let rip more times than I care to remember on listservs and the like. I expect this is a lesson I’ll have to learn again and again.

Lastly, it occurred to me that another faux quote for the head of this post could be “I have here in my hand a list of 57 bloggers known to me to be members of the anti-Library-2.0 party…” Now I’m not saying that Abram or Cohen or anyone is equivalent to McCarthy, I just think that those echoes are part of what we object to in these sweeping statements.

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