Wesley, Thank you for addressing the bibliography debate. I personally interpreted the e-mail to be typical of correspondence between university professors. I worked for seven years at a major university as a lecturer, and was copied on e-mail discussions with a similar tone and approach. However, I think it is a good idea to minimize the extent of it due to the diverse audience of the Forum. Best regards and with appreciation, Gail Levitt -----Original Message----- From: Wesley Britton <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 12:56 PM Subject: newer Forum members >Judging from postings to me privately and on this Forum, I see a need to >address a more important matter than a long out-dated controversy. > >Several folks stated they now feel reluctant to post questions or make >comments in the light of the heavy-duty "war horses" responses to queries. >I deeply hope this doesn't happen. This issue has arisen before with some >old >types complaining about high school students asking for term paper help to >those who want no discussions at all and simply want to read scholarly >information. From time to time, lively discussions do erupt over any number >of matters, and no one should feel they are not welcome to pose questions or >contribute to the debate. Sure, some questions may have been asked before, >and repeatedly, and sometimes referring such questions to our Forum archives >is a good response. But I hope no non-academic or newbie to the profession >will ever pull back from honest questions or responses to them. Asking what >definitive books are out there was a perfectly valid question and resulted >in the most engaging discussion we've had in ages. Thanks for asking. > >And I thank those who observed that the central point John and I were trying >to make is that we were telling a general reader why we're cautious in the >books to recommend. Controversy will occur time and time again and there's >nothing wrong with that. We are, after all, the champions of HUCKLEBERRY >FINN.