[Histonet] Rudeness on histonet

Thu Jan 20 13:27:09 CST 2005

Dear Kristen and others:

I too feel that Kristen was treated rudely. I have noticed this problem from
time to time on HistoNet and I feel I have to say something. Some people
generally assume that because you ask an open question that you are
clueless. While you might get better answers by being more specific, the
better way to respond to "any suggestions" is to ask if you could provide
more details. Just assuming that you and your boss have no idea what you are
doing and have ventured into this project naively is not fair. That response
was not helpful - it was nothing but rude. Did they suggest a class or a
book that they found practically good? No! The response was condescending
and pointless. Please ask for clarification before you humiliate a person.
And please do not tell someone they deserved to be treated rudely - that is
even worse!

People write into histonet with questions because there is a wealth of
knowledge amongst the subscribers. This is valuable information and
constitutes years and years of experience. Keep in mind, all of our
experiences have been different. Just because a person might not have
experience in one area doesn't mean that they are not very knowledgeable in
another. In other words, if you are rude to a person they might not want to
share valuable information with you when you ask. Or worse, they might leave
the Histonet and deprive all of us of their knowledge! 

I too asked an open question one time about processing tissue with plastic
beads in it and received an incredibly condescending response instructing me
on how to design an experiment. I have a Ph.D. for god's sake. I have spent
15 years designing experiments. I also saw a young student publicly filleted
for cheating when her instructor encouraged her to send her inquiry out to
the Histonet. 

Kristen, please don't leave the histonet because of one (incredibly) rude
response. Take it for what it is - useless! Please hold out for helpful
people that actually have information to contribute.

Hang in there!

Julie

Julie Randolph-Habecker, Ph.D.
Experimental Histopathology Shared Resources
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Ave. N, G1-300
PO Box 19023
Seattle, WA 98109-1024
Tel: (206) 288-1187
FAX: (206) 288-1345
jhabecke <@t> fhcrc.org <mailto:jhabecke <@t> fhcrc.org>

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 11:44:27 -0800
From: Geoff McAuliffe <mcauliff <@t> umdnj.edu>
Subject: Re: [Histonet] perfusion suggestions follow up
To: Kristen Reynolds <kristenhinkle <@t> yahoo.com>
Cc: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Message-ID: <41F00A1B.6060101 <@t> umdnj.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=ISO-8859-1

Dear Kristen:

    Your original posting (see below) gave no indication that you were 
familiar with perfusion for LM or EM. You did not ask for fixative 
composition, you just asked for "any suggestions". Given the broad scope 
of your question, the advice you got WAS helpful. The fixative 
combination for wanting to do both on the same tissue IS out there, but 
you have to be more specific in your question. The correct fixative 
combinatio will depend on:
1. Are you doing histochemistry? If so, what reaction? Pre-embedding or 
post-embedding reaction?
2. Are you doing immunohistochemistry? If so, what antigen? 
Pre-embedding or post-embedding reaction?
3. What plastic are you embedding in?
4. What routine stains do you need to do?
5. What part of the brain will you be looking at? The brain is a big place.
6. Do you need to do LM and EM on the same piece of tissue/same cells?

Advice on HistoNet is free. Some of it is quite good. Checking published 
papers in refereed journals and looking at the results is always a good 
idea, espcially given the cost of experimental animals.

Geoff

Kristen Reynolds wrote:

I need advice on perfusion solutions for rat/monkey
brains.  I need to use the tissue for both light
microscopy and EM.  Any suggestions?

>Wow, I can't believe how rude of a response I got.  I
>thought this was for helpful comments.  I know how to
>perfuse for light microscopy and EM.  I just thought
>the fixative combination for wanting to do both on the
>same tissue might be out there.  I guess I won't be
>asking histonet anything anymore.
>
>__________________________________________________
>

 This electronic message transmission contains information which may be
confidential or privileged. The information is intended to be for the
use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the
intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution
or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have
received this electronic transmission in error, please leave a message
via telephone at (206) 288-6266, notify me by electronic reply, and
delete this message. Opinions and ideas in this message that do not
relate to official business are understood as neither given nor
endorsed by the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. To view our complete
Notice of Privacy Practices, visit our web site at www.seattlecca.org.