I do not want this post to be turned into a flame war, I have had thoughts of whether or not to post this, however I decided that this needed to be posted.

Recently on a yahoo group that I moderate for selling model railroad equipment, I had a list member post a request for help for a railroad museum. I had rejected his email due it being off topic to the list topic and told him that this list was not a place for the topic.

After rejecting the email I had received several emails from him afterwards. Today he sent another email taking a tone I did not care for, after notifying him that I than removed him from the list I received another nasty email. I will not list the person, or the organization he was trying to help, however as I am a member of a railroad museum in a different country, his actions made me question the organization he is trying to help. Remember to be polite while representing a Museum of any type, if you post somewhere for help, and your post is rejected, don’t be rude to the moderators of that list, go on with life. Even if you are not a member of an organization and you repost a request for help for that organization, your actions can have a negative effect on that organization you are trying to help

Thanks
Mike Slater

Mike, you did the right thing, both in rejecting the off- topic post and in posting this to RyPN.

People need to remember the organization they are representing (whether in an official or an unofficial role) is judged by their actions. Stay professional and polite, and ensure the requests are within reason, and your organization will be respected.

The situation of multiple forwardings of an e-mail announcement can be scary, if the wrong type of person decides to "help".

Thanks for posting this reminder.

Steve Hunter

You mean the email plea from the museum in Nigeria that says if I furnish my bank account number that will entitle me to a few million plus help the museum???? Gee.....how did I miss that?

Many museums have a designated "spokesperson" who should be the one to speak on behalf of the museum. Members should avoid making statements that would give the impression of being the official position of the museum when it's just the individual member's opinion. This is not "restricting freedom of speech", but a prudent course to make sure the goals of the museum are not compromised by an outspoken member who may not know the "big picture". It's not in the same league as "Loose lips sink ships" (World War II slogan), but it's still good to emulate the beloved lady in a small town, who, when asked her secret to being so well liked said, "Before I let words out of my mouth, I stop and taste them first."

There was no illegal actions about the subject of the post, the museum is going through some things that many groups have gone through, even the group I belong to had a similar scare a few years back but we were able to work with all parties involved

Sadly, there is no cure for stupidity.

I have had to deal with a couple folks online and in letters who are apparently too dense to "get a clue"--the type that, when they ask you to list everything about the trolleys your (railroad) museum has, and you answer "we have none," they insist you are lying because they saw them at your museum last time they were there, and are thus engaging in a cover-up! (Ummm, maybe you're confusing us with the other museum across town, the trolley museum? Or the one on the other side of the state?)

There are several authors, and at least one newspaper columnist, who have made a small career out of concocting fantabulous, preposterous complaint or inquiry letters to the PR departments of corporations, and then compiling and publishing the deadpan responses (or lack thereof) given by such representatives. We never can be sure if this is someone setting us up for ridiculousness or simply sincere ignorance or blatant stupidity. It seems that almost nobody, understandably, is willing to tell the person composing these letters "You're an idiot," and we are all thus basically forced into some of the most fake sincerity and politeness ever seen, worthy of running-for-President balderdash-slinging.

Yes there is, it's called education. You're thinking of stubbornness. You can't fix stubborn.


Yeah, those guys. It doesn't really matter what they insist about. They insist.

Note that "knowing for sure" is not even slightly the same thing as "being stubborn".


It isn't always that. Very often what looks like idiocy is merely miscommunication. Or in some cases education. There are key pieces of information that they are missing. They would look them up, but it hasn't come up yet in conversation that they need to.

IMHO stupidity has no cure, ignorance does by education.
I was involved once in a major donation by a major railroad. Things were going smoothly until a member put in his unrequested 2 cents worth. This got to the railroad management and the donation was cancelled.
Fortunately the items would up at another museum where they are still enjoyed.
Names were eliminated to protect the guilty.

Ira Schreiber, member of many museums