Editorial

Internationally Challenged
Doug Myers

My apologies to those whose expectations I seem to have disappointed with last week's editorial. Some feel that it's best if I put any trace of nationalism aside when striving to write for the international community. This was most eloquently expressed by Rachael Veraa (of my own country), whose argument is featured in the Echotalk article in this issue.

It's certainly true that I've been trying to encourage greater international participation in Fidonews (as well as participation in general), so I guess I'm striving to write for an international community. The question is: what's the best way to go about it?

Should I proclaim "I'm the Editor of Fidonews and I'll try to write what you want to hear?" Should I then avoid talking about American hot dogs because they offend some in the world? Should I avoid mentioning American baseball because soccer is more accepted internationally?

Or should I proclaim "I'm the Editor of Fidonews and I'd like to print what you want to write about?" May I then listen intently as Andrei Besedin from Kiev describes how Fido prospers in the Ukraine, or as Ward Dossche comments on the view from Zone 2? May I chuckle as Alexander Dovnar and David Pratt from Zone 2 share some Y2K humor?

My choice is the latter. The folks I actually correspond with in the international community don't seem especially put off by a little friendly nationalism. In fact, they unabashedly display it themselves, and talk about it. It flavors the conversation agreeably and, in my opinion, brings about a true internationalism which is only possible by understanding.