I don't see politeness as optimism at all; I see it as capitulation
to irrational standards. Learning to use the dribble glass, as it
has been put so eloquently. And the expectation of politeness gets
in the way of plain no-bullshit communication.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC