An aside, but important aside.

It is the nature of e-mail that people who write through this medium 
do so in a much less formal manner than they would conventional 
mail, especially business "letters", but also even "social" ones.

Thus parents get ecstatic letters from their back-packing offspring 
telling of white water rafting they have just completed at 99% risk 
to life and limb in Zimbabwe, or bungee jumping in New Zealand.  They 
dive into a cyber cafe and write home with the adrenalin still 
flowing, rather than in a considered manner later that night.

Result?  Parents suffer alternate bouts of hypertension, hypotension, 
rage and extreme anxiety.  If the kids knew, they would have been 
more circumspect in their original communication, but they wanted mum 
and dad to share their excitement

Ditto, sometimes, histonet!

We are all guilty of sometimes hitting the delete button and 
immediately  wishing we did not.  We also sometimes hit the "send" 
button, realise that we had not expressed ourselves as we wished we 
had, gulped and said to ourselves "Oh well"

Every now and then *@*!*+*%**   and "hell hath no fury like a 
disturbed histonet"

When someone says "Sorry folks, I did not mean quite that", remember 
that, if you are a contributor - "there but for the grace of God god 
go I"

Hands up those who religiously check their message before hitting 
"send"?  Even the most distinguished contributors hit wrong keys 
sometimes, but the nature of histonet is it goes as as we speak.  It 
really is a "discussion" forum, not a "writers" forum.  If we were 
taking, we would have the opportunity to say "Hang on a minute, 
that's not what I meant" or "That's not what I meant to say"

On this medium, you don't get that chance - but I would not have it 
any other way, maily because it would not work.

Many of you will know that I've been insulted often enough!
I know - I've been there!

And now, noting the shift in the percentage contributions from 
questions and answers to sermons, I will shut up!

(Off stage - hooray, hooray)
Russ Allison, Wales