Further Antedating of "Black Hole"

[Mark Mandel]

On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 8:47 PM, David A. Daniel <dad at pokerwiz.com> wrote:
>  And, jeeeeeez! Can't you guys lighten up on Tom Zurinskas? OK, he goes a bit
>  overboard with his truespel thing. So what? If he went and got a PhD in some
>  linguistic field, and still promoted his truespel, you would then take him
>  more seriously? If your answer is negative then be careful, as it has been
>  proposed on this list that Tom's problem is a lack of paper. Everyone on
>  this list goes overboard on their own thing, their own view of the
>  linguistic universe.

Tom Zurinskas is ignorant of the most basic terms and concepts of
linguistics. If, when corrected, he had ever said "Oh, thanks, I
didn't know that. Where can I find out more about it?", dozens of us
would have cheerfully given him guidance. Instead, he obstinately
refuses to acknowledge any possible lack in his understanding or
rightness and to interpret any mention of them as personal insults,
which he then returns with personal insults. He has done nothing on
this list but promote his own crackpot agenda.

On his first appearances, some of us debated whether he was a troll.
After some correspondence with him, possibly off-list, I decided that
he was not a troll, deliberately stirring up anger and confusion, but
a nut, honest but totally out of touch with reality as far as language
is concerned.

He has every right to pitch his fantasies to anyone willing to listen,
but not to pollute this list with his rants and rages [sic].

That's just my opinion, mind you. But I'm quite serious about it.

--
Mark Mandel

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