Ela wrote:
>Hi, Barbara!  Is it really a "busyness" of ferrets, or a "business" of
>ferrets?  Thanks!
 
They are actually the SAME word, with the same origins; spelling may vary,
but historically each was spelled either way because ferrets are busy and
people working are busy (at least optimally).
 
Mary wrote:
>The name -------------- is not on our subscriber list.
 
I removed the name from this post.  May not matter anyway whether the
person lied about being a Modern Ferret subscriber or not.  I don't know
the particulars, only that I found the posts from the unnamed person to
be questionable in tone and argument, and to possibly have a questionable
direction to it.
 
In the past there have been people who used false names to attack multiple
companies (including Modern Ferret) in ways which on the surface SEEMED
reasonable, but were not once they were better known.  Some of these
individuals turned out to apparently have personal economic interests in
hurting the businesses they attacked.  Some seemed to have been from people
who just consider it a hobby to cause trouble on internet lists.  In fact,
I recall one time when newbies came on just to slam a company and then
disappeared so when I see new names going after any company I know that it
might actually be only one person using multiple names.  That is one of the
techniques which is COMMON among such people and it is very well documented
by sociologists and anthropologists who study internet dynamics.  It will
LOOK like two or three, or four, or what number of people but only ONE
trouble maker will be trying to stir up damage.  It's also not too unusual
for such individuals to purposely try to kick people when they are down and
most vulnerable, and certainly a couple trying to make a small two-person
business work despite a severe illness which swallows up their time fits
into being vulnerable.  have seen it happen to us when my father and
Steve's father were both in very poor health and we were very afraid of
them being left needing continuous care or dying.  THEN I got kicked by
such people.  That IS what those types do, very often.
 
Now, I can't read peoples' minds so I don't know if that is what is
happening to Mary and Eric and Modern Ferret now, but they HAVE been
victimized that way in the past.  Might not be that at all, but I don't
know.  The result is that like anyone who has been on the FML for a long
time Steve and I use a VERY large grain of salt when it appears that
someone wants to start a gripe thread about any company or any individuals.
It happens elsewhere, too, so just keep it in the back of your minds.  It
can happen again because it has happened in the past.  Might it be
happening now?
 
*****BILL, question: Re: the names which appeared with the leading
complaints this time -- were they newbies or pretty close to being
newbies?*****
 
[Moderator's note: Only some.  I have strong suspicions about the "who"
here, but nothing to say "on list."  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 3149]