rorkesdriftvc.com :: View topic - I think I have found my new fascination! ( Zulu War )

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:17 pm

This is, indeed, a clear case of a misunderstanding and I hope that Johnny Hamman will not withdraw from this forum. I look forward to his future contributions.

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:58 am

If I may throw my hat in the ring (as an English tutor to Koreans) - sometimes it is cultural... reading Mike Snook's response I did feel, as one from Asia, that it was rather trifle cold. However, I do know that occidentals tend to be, as Peter quite eloquently put it, short, sharp and to the point. I once dated this American girl who gave me a 'dear John letter' which said at the end, "I feel nothing for you." THAT particular literary masterpiece took me about 5 years to get over and to forgive. But she didn't mean anything particularly nasty, just that she did not feel any romantic love for me. I was expecting something more along the lines of 'We can just be friends' but that's just her way of saying it. So sometimes it's cultural.

Another example, my grandmother has stage 4 cancer. The local doctors just gave some medication but did not really tell her how grave the situation was. My uncle who has practiced in America for 20 years or so told her the truth, very gently, but it had to be said. So sometimes its just something that needs to be said.

Another example, a number of my students use the term 'yeah right' when they AGREE with me. I've explained it to them a number of times that 'yeah right' actually means you are sarcastically DISAGREEING with someone but because it has been ingrained in them they persist. So sometimes it's habit or training.

Final example, on another forum I was actively modding this one game and this guy, who was relatively new to modding, suggested something that I had been doing for quite some time - in fact I had just released a pretty big modification doing exactly that. So I - as politely as I could - explained that I knew that already but thanks for bringing it up. And, as I feared, the guy was deeply insulted and he never spoke to me again, which was a pity because he was really a brilliant modder in his own field, weather special effects. So sometimes it is how others perceive our answer.

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:53 am

Peter/Alan
Because all that could be said has now been said, and in the interests of moving on from this, perhaps this particular topic could now be locked?
Dawn

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:08 am

^^ it was just me explaining my renewed fascination with the Zulu war Embarassed

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:00 am

It's nothing you did, Johnny, its just the way the thread developed. They do that sometimes. You start with a perfectly logical question and away the thing goes. It's not always bad and often leads to some interesting discussion.

Its just that this one seems to have developed in quite the wrong direction and I think we all agree that it was all a misunderstanding and I just thought we should close it to avoid going round and round in circles.

Don't stop the posts, Johnny, and if you want to continue in the same vein, you can always start a fresh thread. Wink

Dawn

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:14 am

O.K. I think we have strayed a little too far from the subject. Lucid as the discussion is, it's nothing to do with everyone else.
FULL STOP. END OF TOPIC.