The Great Wait, part deux

Still waiting for a response to my request to Encarta. I'm getting pessimistic here. Nine days to go.

I'd prefer that my request be granted, of course, but some sort of acknowledgment would be nice - even if it's to say, "Screw you, we do whatever we want." In its way, even that would not be disappointing; it indicates they actually read their feedback and care enough to respond. Please don't disappoint me.

About the shooting in Israel, and the cheering that followed

I'm speechless.

Update - The Great Quote-Quiz Wait

Folks, it's been almost a week since I notified Encarta about the faulty quiz. No word from them. Now I understand that I'm probably not their highest priority - they're very busy with real jobs, for Pete's sake - so they should probably be cut some slack. So I'm giving them three weeks to get back to me, and then the post stays for sure.

I say this not out of cockiness but out of concern. If my opinion matters so much, and it's so critical (and so right, of course), you would think some Encarta rep would want to respond to it. That's what I would hope, anyway. But if my feedback makes no difference, and they don't send me so much as an acknowledgment, it only supports my charges. That's what I'm afraid of.

It's not always pleasant to be right. I actually want to be corrected on this. Trouble is, I don't see how. Encarta, if you're listening, say something - and fast.

Call to Truce

Can't we all just get along?

Just recently, I gave the last post another look. OK, it felt real nice to vent, and I still believe my position is correct - but how much good will that do? Not only do I hate nitpicking, I hate brute negativity; it's purely destructive, it tears down without building up.

Which got me thinking: when you feel bad about something, it's because things aren't the way you'd like them to be. There's widespread poverty; the Iraq war should never have happened; your job stinks; the cat peed on my bed. We wanted none of these things, yet there they are. Now we have a choice to make: change circumstances for the better, change your view of the circumstances...or just suffer, you shiftless bastard, suffer!

I decided that I wanted to see Encarta do a better job. Generally they are fine, which is why they enjoy the high reputation; when things go wrong, though, it's better to point it out and ask them to try again. Encarta does not deserve to be reviled like I did. So I filled out the "Feedback" form, and am now waiting for a response of some kind.

The reason I'm airing all this is so that I'm not mistaken - and have a clean conscience. I'm not bitter (I hope), nor do I want to be regarded as such. And I don't want to make a habit of smack-downs. That achieves nothing. Anger breeds anger, the coals glow red under the ashes. I don't want to apologize for the content of my post, though I do regret its form. At the same time, I don't feel obliged to eat my words - which is what I'd do if I softened or deleted them. This is something I feel strongly about, hence the strong response.

So what I proposed is this: reconsider the quiz, and I'll reconsider my post. If they pull the quiz, I'll pull my post. If the quiz stands, the post stands. I figured that's fair; let's see what happens...