My first reaction when I see people ranting about some trivial thing on social media is to envy them for apparently having nothing terrible to worry about. It’s quite astonishing how exercised people get over inconsequential differences of opinion.

But interestingly enough, this is nothing new. My own experience of it came in the year 2000. As I wrote in my newsletter of 9 January 2001:

Now, you have to admit, that just from that brief couple of paragraphs the website was chockfull of potentially useful stuff, as was the newsletter. Despite that, I received a ranting email from someone who took exception to the falling snowflakes effect mentioned there. He went on about how stupid it was, how the effect shouldn’t be there because he didn’t like seeing it, blah blah blah.

I have a policy of never replying to disrespectful emails. I welcome discussion, and we can all learn from opinions other than our own. But being subjected to a tirade about snowflakes?! Give me strength.