Note to moderator: I hope this is OK.

I have been provided the contents of a letter containing a series of financial and administrative points. It was mailed from Scranton, Pa, titled "The Problem with Steamtown for RYPN" and signed "A Steamtown Volunteer"

The recipient and I agree its worth posting, provided its verifiable.

If the sender will email me (use an anonymous email if you so desire, my email provided above is set up so that its first name "Super", last name "Heater"), I'll post the points if you do the following:

1.) Prove authorship by describing the points with sufficient detail to prove authorship.

2.) Provide a source that will allow me to verify the points made in the letter.



superheater@rrmail.com

> Note to moderator: I hope this is OK.

We have always allowed posts under pseudonyms here, provided they conform to all the ofther Guidelines and rules: are courteous, and make any criticisms in a polite and constructive tone, etc. This allows people who may be constrained by their professional position to still contribute.

That said, I have ruled in other instances in the past that we don't really do hearsay on the Interchange--hearsay being, of course, things told to one party by another party concerning matters of which the first party has no direct experience.

Reprinting this letter on the Interchange would fall under the definition of circulating hearsay, so I can't say I condone it.

Super, if you would be so kind, feel free to give your correspondent a quick tutorial on how to establish a pseudonym e-mail account with Yahoo or MSN, so he/she can post his/her thoughts him/her self. But by the same token, please don't publish your correspondent's letter on the Interchange yourself. We need each poster to stand behind and be fully responsible for his or her own words, rather than get into the business of relaying the words of other parties.

> We have always allowed posts under
> pseudonyms here, provided they conform to
> all the ofther Guidelines and rules: are
> courteous, and make any criticisms in a
> polite and constructive tone, etc. This
> allows people who may be constrained by
> their professional position to still
> contribute.

> That said, I have ruled in other instances
> in the past that we don't really do hearsay
> on the Interchange--hearsay being, of
> course, things told to one party by another
> party concerning matters of which the first
> party has no direct experience.

> Reprinting this letter on the Interchange
> would fall under the definition of
> circulating hearsay, so I can't say I
> condone it.

> Super, if you would be so kind, feel free to
> give your correspondent a quick tutorial on
> how to establish a pseudonym e-mail account
> with Yahoo or MSN, so he/she can post
> his/her thoughts him/her self. But by the
> same token, please don't publish your
> correspondent's letter on the Interchange
> yourself. We need each poster to stand
> behind and be fully responsible for his or
> her own words, rather than get into the
> business of relaying the words of other
> parties.

Erik, no intention of posting a letter received from a third party to another recipient without first obtaining (and citing) some independent verification-which is why I requested a source of such info...


superheater@rrmail.com