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  From: David Newall <davidn@rebel.net.au>
  To  : David Lloyd <lloy0076@senet.com.au>
  Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 13:04:11 +0930 (CST)

Re: ALL "NEWBIE" QUESTIONS

On Sun, 23 May 1999, David Lloyd wrote:
> Geez! I hate that word `newbie'. It's condescending, impolite and most
> anti-community minded.

That's an interesting perspective.  Quite by co-incidence I had a
discussion this morning, over the "Dear Older Australian" letter,
in which it was claimed that that form of address was an insult.
The counter argument was that the letter was sent to people who
were Australians, and who were well and truly past the median age,
and thus were older, and so the form of address was factual.  If
it was factual, and of course there is nothing demeaning about
being older, and if it was intended in good faith, it could not
have been insulting.  Indeed the protagonist in the media is a
self-admitted stirer, and it is my belief that if he actually
felt insulted by a letter addressed to "Dear Older Australian",
it was because he chose to feel insulted.

I trust the parallel with newbie is clear?

For an alternative view on this, consider the "for Idiots" series
of books: They're big sellers.  I can't imagine why so many people
would choose to buy a book, the very title of which claims its
readership to be idiots.  An insult?  I should have thought so, but
apparently not.

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