Tom, I think yours is a well-reasoned message and I respect your opinions.
Personally, I found some of the "jokes" a bit offensive (though some were also
funny).  But the thing I found truly offensive was Al's reposting of private
messages to the list.  If I had been one of the people who responded to him
through private email, and then saw my message reposted here, I would have been
quite upset too.  The whole point of a private reply is to avoid cluttering up
the list by airing personal disputes.  The people who criticized Al were
respectful enough of the rest of us to not subject us to a flame war, but Al
chose to ignore that intent and drag the rest of us into it, and committed a
gross violation of nettiquette in the process.  I posted this message publicly
in the hope that others will agree and not follow Al's example in the future.

Wayne