So much for colleagues, so much for integrity, so much for ethics.......

[antares]

List,

Some time ago I wrote an article for the Dutch email forum in my own
language and, as I wrote it in Dutch, it was - clearly - meant for the Dutch
subscribers only.

Unfortunately there was a very sneaky Dutch colleague here who, after
reading my words, found it necessary to attempt to translate my article into
'English' and send it along to a group of people he personally associates
with. 
The reason why he did this was because he did not agree with what I had
written and he very clearly wanted to gain prestige and score 'points' from
the folks he sent it to.

Now, the fact that he copied my article and sent it along after he had
translated it is in itself not wrong, although, he should, or he could have
had the guts to inform me of his intentions out of politeness or for ethical
reasons. 
This Dutch e-mail forum is open to the public and there is no copy-right on
the letters exposed there so I do not - really - have a right to complain.

What is rather upsetting however is that I, to my astonishment, discovered
that this 'translation' of my words and with - my name -attached to it,  has
come into 'slippery hands' and has now been sent all over the internet.
What is even more upsetting, is to find out that my text has been screwed up
completely : my personal phrasing and way of 'speech' is unrecognizable, my
personal intentions have been altered, whole parts and phrases were left out
and I find that 'my' words sound like those of an idiot with a dictionary.

So, the reason for writing these words is to let you know that if you happen
to have received this translated article of mine, it has nothing to do with
my original text and that I do not take any responsibility.

This story shows that every word we write on the internet can be read or
used by friendly meaning persons, but also misused by malicious creeps, as
happens all the time.
It also shows the possibility that malicious intentions executed via the
internet may surprise the original sender, as both positive and negative
intentions always act like a boomerang.

So much for colleagues, so much for integrity, so much for ethics.......


André Oorebeek,