additional texmf tree for all users (was Re: [OS X TeX] Beginner help with TeXshop/MacTex needed)

[Rowland McDonnell]

> On Aug 29, 2006, at 18:53 , I wrote:
> 
> > (Down below I have a new idea what might have happened in May 2005.  
> > Please
> > read carefully to the end)
> 
> Rowland reacted off list to my message quoted in part above by  
> telling me to read his mail carefuly and then telling me he refuses  
> to read mine (which contained a lot of positive things for him, so it  
> is his loss).

Unfortunately, my once-over of that message showed that it's not at all
useful for me.

Gerben unfortunately has a deep misunderstanding of what it is I need
to know.  His message referred to doesn't contain the information I
need to know to enable me to start work with MacTeX. Posters on
<news://comp.text.tex> have been much more forthcoming and extremely
helpful to me - and thanks to them, I'll be getting on with the job
pretty soon.

> That crosses a limit with me. I find not reading my message so  
> lacking in courtesy that I am not able to be patient with Rowland  
> anymore.

That's a pretty feeble bit of self-justification, isn't it?

[snip]

Again, I regret the inconvenience that this non-technical chatter is
causing the users of this mailing list.  But I feel (yet again) deeply
and unfairly maligned, so I'm going to respond.  Mea culpa.

Since Gerben has already broken established etiquette by publishing
private communication between us by saying the above, I feel
semi-justified in compounding the error by saying this: Gerben reacted
off list to me by hurling all manner of gratuitous insults at me,
including telling me that I had a screw loose in my brain.  That was one
of his less insulting comments.

The heaps of gratuitous personal abuse he's hurled at me off list
crossed a line with *ME* - Gerben is now listed in my `black book' of
utterly unreasonable people with whom there is no point in attempting
any rational communication.  I intend to ignore him as much as
possible. You'll note that I'm not ignoring him at the moment; well,
I'm only human.

Gerben did - finally - give me some information that was relevant to my
needs, but only after I told him that I'd ask his ISP to tell him to
stop harrassing me if he sent me any more emails containing non
technical content - he's been really quite deeply unpleasant and
insulting towards me personally.  Intriguingly, that did persuade him
to send me a message which contains information that I will be able to
use for sure at some point in the future, after I've learnt what I need
to learn - I need information which this mailing list has informed me
does not exist, but I managed to find on my own.  After I'd tracked it
down, I did ask some questions on comp.text.tex, and posters there
informed me immediately that I'd found the right documentation,
contradicting the misinformation supplied by some very unhelpful people
here.

I should note that none of the information Gerben has supplied me is
anything I can use *yet* - he does of course know this, since I've
explained why in full detail, but I suppose he's doing all this rubbish
so that he can `prove' he's trying to help and I'm just madly
unreasonable.

Rowland.
-- 
Karl Berry to Rowland McDonnell in comp.text.tex 27 Aug 2006
Message-ID: <1156696299.069601.177620 at i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>

`I am not surprised that an expert like yourself
finds [MacTeX] frustrating.'
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