On Tone.
Even and supportive tone: "Joe, it is wonderful to hear from you, sorry to find bad stuff has been going on, but welcome back here! While we all look to a good find once in a while, sometimes we get stars in our eyes and fail to see the obvious. If you will look closely, you will see a seam that shows this coin to be a made-up coin. We wish you good luck, and keep up the search! I have a coin just like yours." Mostly, here I see this.
Condescending Tone: "Are you on drugs?"
Some people are on drugs, and insulting them thusly is still unwarranted. ;)
In written form we should ensure our writing style is of a nature that when we see the object of our words, we don't wonder if we have put ourselves at risk of getting our feelings hurt next time we see the person face to face. It is a small world to the knowing vast majority of people.
Edited by legend
08/12/2010 11:58 am