Apology to Pat Ryan and Larry Trask

[Richard M. Alderson III]

Recently, I received in the Indo-European input queue a message from Pat Ryan
which appeared to be a highly intemperate criticism of Larry Trask.  As has
been my custom, I sent a note to Mr. Ryan stating that I thought it beyond the
pale, and indicating that I would post it with an invitation to Mr. Trask to
respond to the substantive issues, but that I would then cut off any further
discussion on the topic.

Because of outside pressures, I had not been able to send out the list daily,
and wished to get things moving again.  I therefore published everything then
waiting in the queue, including the message in question, without waiting for a
response from Mr. Ryan; I thereby did him an injustice.  Mr. Ryan assured me by
return mail that the apparent intemperate remarks were intended as humorous,
and that he would have submitted a revised version of the message with explicit
"smileys" on the statements to which I objected had I given him the chance.

I apologize to Mr. Ryan for this, and to Mr. Trask for making him the apparent
victim of an attack which was not so intended.  Mr. Trask has responded, with
some forbearance and some explicitly marked humour; this response will be sent
out shortly.

Although I declared the thread closed, seeing only the potential for a long
exchange without interest to the readers of the list, even the two gentlemen
involved, I would like to reverse that decision.  Both writers have shown a
willingness to keep to the issues, and so long as that is true, the discussion
seems useful to me and, I hope, to the other readers of the Indo-European list.

								Rich Alderson
								list owner and
								moderator