Hi, Park,
"I personally hate slavish devotion to, and dogma about, anything."
"I hate slavish devotion to, and dogma about, anything."
"Slavish devotion to, and dogma about, anything is bad/stupid/idiotic/dangerous."
I agree that "tone" and intention are very important, which is more than perhaps sometimes acknowledged, "imho" or "in my personal opinion" disclaimers notwithstanding.
There are complicating factors like cultural norms and mores; linguistic chasms; abstraction that result from the previous; etc etc etc.
"Is it not possible to be civil, to separate fact from opinion, and to engage in polite discourse without following precisely the conventions of the handwritten letter with respect to greetings and salutations and without adopting acronyms?"
Yes, it is entirely possible, no question about it from me.
Separating fact from opinion is a broader but overlapping issue.
Following any (prior) conventions from a similar but different metaphorical (or analogous?) "context" is fraught with transference fallacies and malaproprisms, but isn't that how human "conventions" evolve, with the path of least resistence? Of course sometimes past conventions need to be discarded wholesale...
I'm not sure how or why acronyms crept into this discussion (you mentioned it, several others did as well) - my original point was not about MO or IMO or IMHO or IMVHO or BR or Hi or TANSTAAFL ... but I am glad it did; it takes this discussion into a related and interesting (to me) area.
"I should think careful writing ought to be able to achieve the laudable goals of civility and clarity without slavish devotion to any particular set of conventions."
I agree, without reservation, but in practice, such "cultural habits" (which may or may not be culture specific) have their purpose.
I remember back in high school, a math teacher I had (have) lots of respect and affection for - she and I were discussing the loosening of manners and civility. She described it as a slippery slope - when one needs to wear clothes neat, going behind the classroom and pulling out one's shirttail was a release for the universal rebellion syndrome. Now that it has become acceptable to wear one's shirt tail out, people will need to find other ways to express and release their innate need to "rebel." A very interesting framing of the issues, one that has shaped my thinking on the subject to this day (though, obviously, hopefully I look at it a bit more sophisticatedly today...)
Slavish devotion to anything (including spouses, parents, and children!!!) is dangerous (eg, abusive spouse or parent) and I tend to discourage it and try to avoid it myself, along with dogma about anything.
But "particular sets of conventions" - Park, I'm sure you would agree that some conventions are necessary, at any given movement or period.
Weight here, I have to go over their and pick up something. I have alot to tell you.
Grammar and spelling police are as irritating to me as anyone, yet I understand the need for grammar and spelling and syntax rules (or at least, standards) Yet the ultimate yardstick, for me, is whether or not common understanding and intended communication is achieved. Afterall, what about the French or Chinese native speakers who make the effort to participate in this English language forum? What about the Americans who mangle the Japanese or German (or even ENGLISH in the UK) while traveling? So where's the balance?
"If this post seems rude, it will prove me incorrect. If it is sufficiently polite, perhaps I'm on to something."
Of course, your post did not come across as rude. You are not incorrect (which is different than being correct, of course.
e.g. one of my favorite plays on subtlety - "I don't disagree."
It was not rude because I know you personally;
it was not rude because you didn't intend rudeness;
it was not rude because you weren't being unreasonably, forcefully imperious with your position.
But then, you knew all that...
Cheers, and as always, always a pleasure to read and engage with you.
TM
(so, I use TM as my sign-off as shorthand and to reduce formality, to increase congeniality, which I hope is a good thing. I suppose some could see it as superficial over-familiarility, rude and lazy as a result.
)