Off-duty, however, if he'd made that kind of a comment, I might well have told him to shut his mouth and leave me alone
The key here is that even if you had, you wouldn't have justified your response by adding, "and I'm a librarian!" Translation of such a response, after all, is: "and since I work for the library, you have to recognize I'm an Authority and must listen to me!"
The only exception to this is when one's personal and public areas converge -- if you're a doctor, and speaking of medical issues during off-hours, you're probably still an authority despite being in Private-Person mode. I can speak of processes while not on the clock and still have twenty years of experience in what I do. I cannot, however, speak authoritatively on carpentry and then claim my business experience is in any way a reason for taking me seriously.
I mention that because I went & looked at the profile of the person raletha quoted... and the woman is also (heh) educated as a librarian. But right now, she's working for LJ -- and my first reaction is: and she's giving us definitive replies on legal technicalities? Regardless of whether she's right or wrong, it undermines her credibility seriously once I discover she has no training nor education in the area she's claiming as an Authority.
It's like trusting someone's telling you the straight up deal in a house inspection, only to find out the person's work history isn't in the construction industry, but in the bartending industry. Part of the key about corporate titles -- used within a corporate/professional environment -- is that it allows me to presume that someone else has checked your stats & skills, and you're not just some fly-by-night moron claiming to know jack... when you don't.
no subject
Date: 9 Aug 2007 08:07 am (UTC)The key here is that even if you had, you wouldn't have justified your response by adding, "and I'm a librarian!" Translation of such a response, after all, is: "and since I work for the library, you have to recognize I'm an Authority and must listen to me!"
The only exception to this is when one's personal and public areas converge -- if you're a doctor, and speaking of medical issues during off-hours, you're probably still an authority despite being in Private-Person mode. I can speak of processes while not on the clock and still have twenty years of experience in what I do. I cannot, however, speak authoritatively on carpentry and then claim my business experience is in any way a reason for taking me seriously.
I mention that because I went & looked at the profile of the person
It's like trusting someone's telling you the straight up deal in a house inspection, only to find out the person's work history isn't in the construction industry, but in the bartending industry. Part of the key about corporate titles -- used within a corporate/professional environment -- is that it allows me to presume that someone else has checked your stats & skills, and you're not just some fly-by-night moron claiming to know jack... when you don't.