It is not so easy Wei just as it may look. Stormy years 1989 and 1990 I've spend abroad in Ottawa Canada, so from my own expierience I can tell you, that it is really not as much easy. I remember weird feeling, that there is certain basic, fundamental difference between me and Canadians, I couldnt call this by name, but those were really long months before I discovered so called "northern type of human communication" and I realized that it was pure nonsens expecting from them my own (polish) kind of behaviour. I remember how much were my Canadian friends surpriced when I told them that they say daily only 10% of words, compared to "normal human being" :-) and that even for me - the "silent silesian" it is extremely difficult to keep quiet for all days. But as english speaking people say "In Rome do as Romans do" I did not have the choice. I had to learn how much it is possible to express by single word and even gesture. Pressing them did not gave the result - I've hit only a group of frightened people, so I am telling this because I think there was (and still is) certain conflict on this discussion group over the past few days and I must to add some things to my previous mail. I know Wei that you were in a perfect agreement with your own "cultural code" but unfortunately for many northern americans the longer letters you've send and the more gentle you were, the more they were convinced that you "make nuts", you simply play with them - impossible ? but Wei - nobody here has left his home. It is perfectly opposite - everybody here is at home, but unfortunately when we meet in this virtual space we all are abroad, but we are not prepared for this. I wouldn't be surpriced if within next few years on the Net we will have discussion groups whose members will kindly ask foreigners to quit, because those groups will be destined for a members of a single ethnic group (or nation) and there will be simultaneously working international groups discussing that same subjects but open for everyone. I dont see the possibility Wei, that if on that same discussion group meet lets say two 60 years old professors, and one of them represents "northern type of communication" and the other "eastern type" (that can be characterised as enourmosly open and first of all - verbal) and the first see a discussion list as a quiet forum, where he can always from time to time send a letter and people know him and for the second the unlimited freedom of speech is a basic human priviledge and basic low, I dont see Wei any other possibility for futher development of such a relations as a SERIOUS CONFLICT. What Mr Deporret said, that some noble proffesors feel offended and may quit this list can be unfortunately a true. How I succeded being member of this group - well I know how I behaved in Canada and what kind of behaviour got a full acceptance from Canadians ( I simply learned who was Champlain or MacDonald, who is Mulroney, Bryan Adams, Chretien, Mazankowsky, Drabinsky, what says prime minister of New Foundland and why it is funny ). It is after all the only one cultural code I know in english so here I try to be "more nothern than Canadians" I mostly read this discussion group - I like reading many people subscribed to this list. (It is somehow strange, but in my opinion discussion groups are becoming slowly more important medium of communication than newspapers or books - that may be a controversial opinion). Certainly I write from time to time, but I do not forget about LOG-s - list archives avaiable for everyone for free all the time. The most prefect example of crosscultural communication is for me case of professor Norman Davies - professor of history from Cambridge and UJ. Even todey I've heard him in the radio - he speaks polish, but whats the more important he knows the history of this country (and history of Europe) better than a great majority of Poles taken together. But he never starts speech from "Poles - you antysemites & pogrom organizers" - (really the most shameful part of our history). I dont know if Ezra Pound writing "Cantos" today would be so much "crosscultural", as he was 70 or 40 years ago, you see - on the net I always can find when I need - a privacy, because polish is not an international language, for unilingual english speaking people it is extremely difficult. There is no "western imperialists" here Wei. If you will check the history you would discover that I can call you "an imperialist" as well (1241 - Battle for Liegnitz - between mongolian & chinese troops under command of grandson of Tchyngiz- Chan and silesian and polish troops commanded by prince Heinrich - in that battle we simply defended our land.) How does it look, such a "imperialists searching" in such a case? Wei ? It is rather important to keep focus on Pound on this discussion group and it makes sense because there exist another 100000-s of subjects that can be discussed. If it would be possible to measure patience and we could make a choise of "one wei" - as a single unit, you have to be concious that patience of Northern Americans can be counted only in miliwei's :-) And I am here probably the only one with patience level comparable to you, Wei. I think that before on the Web will be worked out a mechanisms that enable "crosscultural communication" and everyone will know how people from different cultures react on different kinds of behaviour one should be very careful with that communication but it certainly doesn't has to be a true in every case. Regards. Pawel Karwowski.