Rules

There are very few rules on this site, just the odd instruction for keeping things going smoothly and for avoiding misunderstandings. One firm rule is that I'm the Boss (wide and wicked grin)! Another one is that all postings, replies, questions etcetera must be posted in English. I don't speak nor want to speak Spanish, Patagonian, Southeastern Mandarin, Icelandic or Tosk, and even if one of these (or any other) is the only lingo you speak, you should not post in it and expect me to run it through a wonky piece of translating software... you should do that and produce a more or less understandable piece of English. I'm not a fanatic though. The odd greeting, exclamation, proverb or tastefully worded insult in let's say Yoruba or Portuguese is perfectly alright.

Now: I'm always amused by people who barely made it through initiation without stumbling over their own robe going about the internet all hollering and calling each other Iya and Baba (wide grin)! I don't really mind, it's just funny though and I won't do it myself. You can call me Baba or Awo if you really want to (you can even call me shithead for all I care), but don't expect me to call you anything else but your name. There's enough bullshit in my life without piling up any unnecessary addition. Same goes for the "Bendicion" and "Aburu aboye" stuff. Feel perfectly free to throw it at me... but I won't throw it at you. Some of you call it good manners... I call it ritualized pretense. And don't "instruct" others (yes, some people do that!) to address you in any particular way: how one is addressed is not a matter for the addressee - it's up to the addresser. So anyone I catch here insisting on being greeted with "Aburu aboye aboshishe" or addressed as "Awo Pipikaka" will be out on an ear - immediately. But again, I'm not a fanatic... so every now and then when I feel like it I might even throw in the odd "Iya", "Oluwo" or "Awo" myself (wide grin)!

Bottom line: don't mess up this place. When in doubt, just think "What would Jaap do?", and then act accordingly. You can't go wrong that way (wide and very wicked grin)!