Dear Ann Landers, I take issue with "Joy in Mudville," who said the Internet is not a source of information but a tool for communication. She has it half right.
Joy is confusing the Internet with electronic mail. Email is only as reliable as the sender, but the Internet is the biggest, grandest encyclopedia anywhere. I can find revolving 3-D images of the inside of the space shuttle and pictures of the Louvre in Paris or the Sistine Chapel in Rome. I can read The Washington Post or the complete works of Shakespeare, get the latest news from Reuters or order a book for my mother's birthday.
Saying the Internet is just a form of communication is like saying the Library of Congress is just a lot of books or that Yale is just a lot of buildings. To lump email chat rooms in with the highly reputable sites that are available through the Internet is inaccurate. Saying "I read it on the Internet" could be the same as saying "I read it at the library." The Internet is a tool. How you use it is up to you. Sign my letter -- Web-Head in the USA
Dear Web-Head, Get out the wet noodle. My readers have convinced me that the Internet, when used properly, has a lot more to offer than I thought. It appears that people can now get what is tantamount to a college education without leaving their homes. This is truly remarkable.
Hi! It's Margo here. I'd love to know what you think of the letters -- and the answers!
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Our Reader to Reader Question of the Week:
Dear Readers, , whatever they needed I provided. What really hurt my son and I the most was the obituary - we were not mentioned at all. Our friends (mine and hers) were appalled. I was embarrassed and upset for not just me, but for my son-who loved her also. I never been so upset. Her x-husband put his wife and kids and their grandchildren in the obituary, who my girlfriend barely knew. They live an hour away from us. I know its silly to be mad over a little section of the newspaper, but it still hurts. Will time let this devastating loss of her and this article ever go away? I am so angry at this whole situation, its not like we can go and rewrite an obituary notice.
