4S: Lamenting The Withdrawn Quote

[Ed Thorn <prophesor@...>]

I'm taking my mod hat off here.  Well, at least
tilting it way back on my head.

I can't site any particular law, but it seems to me
that if you send someone an email, the text of that
email is then quotable by them.  That you might have a
problem with being quoted is far more your problem
than theirs, and ought not involve the law (or editing
the archive of this list) at all.

My Great-grandmother used to say you shouldn't write
anything down that you wouldn't want read from the
pulpit.

Quotation is traditionally the fairest way to inform
the body politic of the opinions and positions of
another.  Quotation avoids the inaccuracy and possible
coloration of the quoted party's position which
paraphrase hazards.

Compare, 'Use four seasons and we will sue your ass'
with 'Dude, we have trademarked four seasons, you
cannot just go make cards to match'.  Both are fair
enough as paraphrases, but neither is as fair as a
direct (and entire) quote.

I lament that the record this list represents, of the
growth of the PP community, has become less valid as a
result of the expurgation of text quoted fairly, if
perhaps not in entire agreement with spurious
legality.

I'm posting this because I hope expressing this
opinion will perhaps let some air out of the issue. 
That is, I hope any others who also were similarly
grieved at this might find rest in my words, and go on
more calmly, to discuss the larger issues from
positions more of reason than of ire.