Posted by Dinah on June 10, 2006, at 8:24:46
In reply to Re: truly massive thread, posted by Dr. Bob on June 10, 2006, at 1:20:55
> > As far as I know, based on past practice, it is possible in the face of a Please Rephrase to apologize for any offense and withdraw the statement.
> >
> > If that's what one wishes to do, it seems like a safe option.
> >
> > Is this true, Dr. Bob?
> >
> > Dinah
>
> That's been my past practice, but rephrasing may be a useful exercise, so I've considered being more insistent. What do you think?I think that past practice has been sound, to tell you the truth. Sometimes there may not be a good way to rephrase (although I suppose you must have thought of one before you asked) while remaining true to yourself and your beliefs. But sometimes in that situation, a request to rephrase can also serve as a reminder that it may not be necessary to always state *all* of your beliefs, and to regret having stated these particular ones here for any distress they may have caused others. In which case a statement to that effect would be perfectly truthful.
Granted it, like an apology, could be more a mere matter of form than of true regret. But you can't conclude that it necessarily would be.
I think, FWIW, you ought to leave the option in place to allow a graceful withdrawal and save insistence for any cases where "Please rephrase" and withdrawals have been used so extensively that you believe insistence on a rephrase to be more appropriate.
Dinah
poster:Dinah
thread:646675
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20060525/msgs/655177.html