Re: predicate pitch-or-music? - getting rid of ##{ #} ?

[Janek Warchoł]

On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 9:38 AM, David Kastrup <address@hidden> wrote:
> Janek Warchoł <address@hidden> writes:
>
>> On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 9:57 PM, David Kastrup <address@hidden> wrote:
>>> That's entirely selfish since I know you are reading the list.  I write
>>> four answers, and you turn them into twenty.
>>
>> I'm not sure i understand.  You are saying that Harm is selfish or
>> that you are selfish?
>
> I am selfish by enabling Harm to do work that I would have to myself
> otherwise.  I thought that was rather obvious.
>
>> Anyway, i have a hard time deciding whether this is a compliment, or
>> something, err, opposite.
>
> Interesting.  I had no problem interpreting Harm's message as a
> compliment to me.  And if I state that he does quite more of the same he
> is complimenting me for, it becomes something opposite?

No, it definitely doesn't become something opposite.  My
misunderstanding was somewhere else:
1) i wasn't sure what the pronoun "that" (in "That's entirely
selfish") referred to.  It could have meant (a) what Harm described in
his message (i.e. your behaviour) or (b) Harm's message itself.
2) i had no idea what "since I know you are reading the list" means in
the context of the rest of your message.

Anyway, everything's clear now - thanks!
Janek

PS i think the 'moral' of this story is: try not to use "this", "that"
and similar words...  I've more than once seen these pronouns cause
misunderstandings.