30201: Corbett: posts on the list asking for help

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

> From Bob Corbett:

Folks,

For years, since the very beginning, the list has carried requests for 
help.  These have been varied from research questions (which I often take 
on), information from folks inside Haiti, contacts with others and on and 
on.  I get an enormous amount of mail thanking me for having posted this 
or that request, and the person will often relate the quantity and quality 
of the help.

Now in the past several days I have been the beneficiary of this help and 
experience the volume of replies and the kindness of the offers.

It makes me believe that this "inquiry" role may well be the most 
successful function of the list, and certainly a very useful option.

I'd known this second hand for years from the notes, but experiencing it 
oneself is quite impressive.

Some have been very funny as well.  Lots and lots of them are from 
students (I handle many of these off-list).  The funniest one I ever got 
was from a highschoo boy in California.  He wrote that he read the FOUR 
ESSAYS I have in my history page on the Haitian Revolution.  I recall my 
favorite sentence:  "I read them with care and think you are right about 
most of it."  Then he said, and this is very close to a direct quote:
-- note, the sum of printed space of these essays would be nearly fifty 
pages -- He said: "But, you do use a lot of big words.  Could you just 
send me a five page summary of the essays."  I had one of the biggest 
laughs in ages and called family and friends to read them the e-mail.

I sent the young man a reply telling him I would be most happy to do this, 
but were I to have the exact specifications of the assignment I could do a 
better job.  I asked him to send those to me with a check for $300 and I'd 
get the essay to him as soon as possible.  Alas, I never heard back.

Bob Corbett