[Air-L] for credentials, in part

[Barry Wellman]

I will (yet again) go against the Expressed opinion of most (altho like
Spiro Agnew, I wonder about the Silent Majority)*
[*This is the first time I have ever quoted Spiro approvingly and I doubt
I will ever do it again.]

I take credentials seriously. They give somewhat of an indication that the
person has earned the right to give an opinion on an area of her/his
expertise. In my own case, my .sig is automatically added, altho I can
always delete, but I rarely do because I have earned every inch of it (in
blood and sleepless nights) and it gives some indication of what I do --
and don't know -- with a link to my websites for those who want to know
more.

Of course, credentials aren't everything. I've taken Jeremy Hunsinger Very
Seriously since the first time we e-met, because of the cogency and
brilliance of his comments.

And I've met a number of people interpersonally and through their papers
whose comments I always take seriously.

And of course, having a PhD, tenure, etc. doesn't mean you ain't a jerk.
We all have had some experience of that.

 Barry Wellman
 _______________________________________________________________________

  S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC               NetLab Director
  Department of Sociology                  725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388
  University of Toronto   Toronto Canada M5S 2J4   twitter:barrywellman
  http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman             fax:+1-416-978-3963
  Updating history:      http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
 _______________________________________________________________________