🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <B4ikoB1w164w@status.gen.nz>, jonc@status.gen.nz (Jon Clarke) writes:
|>  To be sent such a letter by somebody called J.D.Luff who signs a letter
|>  yours faithfully and does not even bother to address it to me nor identify
|>  their gender.

What has their gender got to do with anything?

cheers
mark

In article <B4ikoB1w164w@status.gen.nz>, jonc@status.gen.nz (Jon Clarke) writes:
|>  
|>  To be sent such a letter by somebody called J.D.Luff who signs a letter
|>  yours faithfully and does not even bother to address it to me nor identify
|>  their gender. Why I for some am personally affronted. It is a matter of
|>  record in nz.general where I offered my services ( I am a bank manager)
|>  as a donation to the Auckland University, to help them sort out their
|>  email billing problems and then in the mail I receive this letter with
|>  this months email bill.

Gender? Why do you need to know? Perhaps you could treat the sender differently
if this person was a woman. It might also be useful to know their colour,
religion, nationality and sexual preferences too!

In article <B4ikoB1w164w@status.gen.nz>, jonc@status.gen.nz (Jon Clarke) writes:
>  
>  It is a matter of record in nz.general where I offered my services 
>  ( I am a bank manager) as a donation to the Auckland University, to help
>  them sort out their email billing problems and then in the mail I receive
>  this letter with this months email bill.

Shame on them!  The Bastards!  Try high court for satisfaction!  As a bank 
manager they'll listen to you!

But seriously how many administrators have the time to read news.  I know that
very few of ours do - the time involved in wading through the screeds of crap
that I (for one) post to the net probably puts them off.  If I want to offer
something, I usually,  in the first instance, use a device called a TELEPHONE.
See, with a telephone, you can be reasonably sure that the person you're
talking to is the one you want, instead of talking to Walt, the janitor, who
just publishes his unconnected thoughts.  In other words, a personal approach
would have established better contact than posting to news.

Secondly, by your tone, you imply that the Auckland University should show
you more respect because you made an offer to help them.  In the same vein,
they maybe could show me more respect (by sending money) if I offered (in news)
to mow their footpaths once a year or so)

>  I am interested to hear how many other sites under the Auckland
>  University domain received such a letter.

Probably only the ones who were slack at paying up.

>Which brings to mind several questions to which I would like some vaild
>answers from sites under the Auckland University domains'.
>  
>  3/  Is this letter indeed cover under the terms and conditions of the
>      credit contracts act (does someone have an opinon)?

Well, geographically, we're under the Auckland University Domain, being
South, but I can't give a vaild or valid answer, not knowing the credit
contracts act.  Perhaps as a banker you could tell us?

>  4/  Does this J.D.Luff have the authority to demand such payment, does
>      someone have an opinon, maybe the Financial Registrar's Office?

No, he probably doesn't have the authority to demand such payment.  Nor does
he probably have the authority to trip over your feed connection, accidentally
stomp on your modem, cut down your news feed, duplicate your news feed by
modifying message ID's etc.  (It's extremely doubtful he would ever do
something like this but if you talked to the guy, you could probably work 
out something to relieve your apparent problem)

>   Finally will J.D.Luff have the decency to please respond with

So what you're saying is that YOU haven't tried to contact HIM (- his number 
will be at the top of the bit of letterhead he sent you.  To help you out, his
name is Jim Luff, you'll probably get hold of him at the Computer Centre, 
Auckland University), you've just posted to the net so we all think he's a real
meanie for wanting payment for services.



-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
This signature was created using RoboSig, the errorfree sigmaker.
Simon Travaglia, spt@grace.waikato.ac.nz, Uni of Waikato, P B, Hamilton, NZ
Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author
and have no bearing his work or employers (but his teddy agrees with him)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWER'S NOTE: A rejection slip based upon literature and theories in
 vogue during the period the reviewer was studying for his or her Ph.D. 

In article <Bs4BBw.M2q@comp.vuw.ac.nz> mark@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Mark Davies) writes:
> 
> In article <B4ikoB1w164w@status.gen.nz>, jonc@status.gen.nz (Jon Clarke) writes:
> |>  To be sent such a letter by somebody called J.D.Luff who signs a letter
> |>  yours faithfully and does not even bother to address it to me nor identify
> |>  their gender.
> 
> What has their gender got to do with anything?


I agree, but I also dislike getting letters signed with just "XY Z".
I'd much rather get a letter signed with their first name so that if
I wished to ring up the organization I wouldn't have to say
"I'd like to speak to an XY Z" .. "Hello XY Z" etc.  Knowing the
gender (Ms. XY Z) makes it better because "Hello, can I please speak
to Ms. Z" sounds somewhat better.  What is the Politically Correct
way to sign your name, First Last is what I use.




-- 
Pat Cain, PO Box 2060, Wellington, NZ  ()  em: cain_p@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz

In article <B4ikoB1w164w@status.gen.nz> jonc@status.gen.nz (Jon Clarke) writes:
> I today received the most offencive letter ever from any SERVICE
> organisation signed by a J.D.Luff, it read as follows ...

You must led a rather sheltered life. I have received considerably more
offensive letters from banks in the past. As for debit collection
agencies, this sort of letter is merely the begining. 

>The University's terms of credit are payment within seven days of
>receipt of invoice. As from today we will be terminating access to the 
>network for users who do not meet this deadline. Reconnection will be 
>unlikely.

Harsh but not unreasonble if they were spelled out in your original
contract. You do have a cotract don't you? If not, well... you should
proably get one. 

>J.D.Luff
>Operations Manager
>Computer Centre.

Most people would notice that this is the style of letter signing that was
prevalent during the 60's and 70's, it was taught in the schools as the
proper way to terminate a business letter. The writer of this letter is
being *polite* by their standards. for a great many people, using their
full name is a sign of informality. 

> To be sent such a letter by somebody called J.D.Luff who signs a letter
> yours faithfully and does not even bother to address it to me nor identify
> their gender. 

I don't know your gender either, would you like to tell us? It looks like
a form letter. Was it typed or lasered? If the former I suspect that it
was just typed up and mailed out to a number of people. Have you never
received form letters before? 

> Why I for some am personally affronted. It is a matter of
> record in nz.general where I offered my services ( I am a bank manager)
> as a donation to the Auckland University, to help them sort out their
> email billing problems and then in the mail I receive this letter with
> this months email bill.

There is often a difference between the people who manage a facility and
the people who adminsiter such tiresome things as billing for that
facility. You may have offered to help Auckland University and spoken to
say J. White about it. Elsewhere a policy decision may have been made to
crack down on debts. J.D Luff may not have known about your offer of help.
You might want to give them the benefit of the doubt before going off
half-cocked. 

> 4/  Does this J.D.Luff have the authority to demand such payment, does
>     someone have an opinon, maybe the Financial Registrar's Office?

Check your contract. If you don't have a contract, then maybe J.D Luff
does and maybe they don't. 

>  Finally will J.D.Luff have the decency to please respond with
>  the several points raised above or you may most certainly ring me
>  on (09) 358-5589 or revert directly in this news group.

Gosh, you assume that administrative staff have the time to read news. How
many clerks in your bank read news? 

Couldn't you keep this out of USENET? At least until you had spoken to J.D
Luff (only a phone call away) and found out what the story was. We really
don't want to know about your misunderstandings with other people --- they
bore us and show you up to be... well volatile might be a polite term. 

Net Pit Bull in Training

--
Alex Heatley                                Computing Services Centre
Domain: Alex.Heatley@vuw.ac.nz              Victoria University of Wellington
Path: I don't support bang paths            P.O Box 600, New Zealand.

thetroll@rata.vuw.ac.nz (The Troll) writes:

> .... As for debit collection agencies,  ....
              ^^^^^
Never heard of these before! But imagine what would happen if
an agent from a *debit* collecting agency meets an agent
from a *credit* collecting agency :-)
 
Sorry, but I could not resist :-)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Russell Street (russells@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz)

Secombe:  Right Mr Greenslade, segergate the sinful sexes ...
Milligan: Wait -- how many sexes are there?
Secombe:  Two.
Milligan: It is not enough, I say! Go out and order some more!

spt@waikato.ac.nz (Simon Travaglia) writes:

> jonc@status.gen.nz (Jon Clarke) writes:
>  
> > [...minor flame war...]
> 
> But seriously how many administrators have the time to read news.  I know that
> very few of ours do - the time involved in wading through the screeds of crap
> that I (for one) post to the net probably puts them off.

And that's just his signatures.....

> [...]
>
> -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
> This signature was created using RoboSig, the errorfree sigmaker.
> Simon Travaglia, spt@grace.waikato.ac.nz, Uni of Waikato, P B, Hamilton, NZ
> Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author
> and have no bearing his work or employers (but his teddy agrees with him)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> REVIEWER'S NOTE: A rejection slip based upon literature and theories in
>  vogue during the period the reviewer was studying for his or her Ph.D. 

						- k
						(I'm sorry, I couldn't help
						 it. The Meach made me do it
						 - yeah, that's the ticket!)
-- 
Craig Harding            kilroy@acme.gen.nz             ACME BBS +64 63 3551342
"Jub'f Xvob?"