Point acknowledged, but proved to be irrelevant because people interpret those stupid emoticons differently (as sarcasm, as joking, as 'softening' something offensive, etc).

For example:
Andre that was a very unprofessional thing to say to a real concern by a participating member of this community

Am I joking or being sarcastic, or hiding my opinion behind a smiley face

Ok, ok, I'm done.

It helps to actually know the person "speaking". Andre is a great guy, very personable, doubt there's a malicious bone in his body.

More importantly: erring to the side of caution in interpretation is good, too.

Maybe you would be good enough to explain the difference between the grin that expresses wry humor and the same grin expressing 'tough sh.t, you're out of luck, buddy.' I have a hard time distinguishing them.

context. like the poster's personality and history. and for those who lack the background, once again: err to the side of caution instead of automatically assuming ill intent.

have to admit, i'm not sure who to take seriously all the time, but i would hope that posts that raise questions for people... especially privacy should be dealt with with a bit less sarcasm at times, at least when its obvious people will get wound up...

Not a kill joy - but can see both sides to the debate here... and think both need a bit of respect

...and on the other side it would be nice if people dropped their anxiety at the door (that applies to me too, since I forget too often).

hehe

yeah... res'pecccccct (Said in a daffy duck styleee) gets forgotten both sides when typing....

Also people forget that you could be taking things really seriously... and at the other end of the debate is a Texrat sitting there sipping pina colada's next to a paddling pool (Well, relaxed anyway)

Oh the joys of t'internet and wireless

Speaking of which, I'm about to have some red wine.

Are we done with the debate, yet?

Yes, have a glass(or three) for us!

If you post to Google Groups your email can be seen be anyone in the group. Google doesn't clearly notify you at any point of joining a group that this will occur, though it is somewhere in their Privacy Policy, but if you already have a gmail account and are logged in you won't see the tiny link to their Privacy Policy, which only occurs if you go to google groups url when not signed in to a gmail account.

While this is common for some bug tracking and support groups to expose email addresses to members, unfortunately the Privacy Policy of maemo.org says

"You expressly accept and give your unambiguous consent that Nokia, Nokia’s subcontractors or agents performing support and thereto related tasks may have access to your Personal Information in order to complete the task in question. These entities performing these functions have accepted appropriate confidentiality obligations when processing your personal information. Your Personal Information will not be revealed to any third parties without your prior consent, except as otherwise provided above in this Privacy Policy or required by law, court order or law enforcement officials. "
http://maemo.org/legal/privacy_policy/

But there is no confidentiality agreement/obligation you submit to, when you join bugs.maemo.org, so it is not true that your personal information is only given to persons who have signed confidentiality agreements/obligations. Maemo needs to update their privacy policy. The policy was written in 2005, so this was well before there was a bugzilla for maemo, which started in 2008.

Maemo should look at Google Groups Privacy Policy, which clearly states that your email is available to all who are members of any group you join.