>Hi Peter,
>
>as I explained to Denis, my comment was meant as a warning to be aware. If I knew it to be a scam, I would have said that is was a scam.
>
>And, yes, language can be quite tricky, not so much because of the translation of words, as it is the translation of culture.

This is an interesting point indeed. On the one hand forums like this one are international, on the other hand the used language is English. On the one hand native speakers of english have knowledge of more words and expressions, on the other hand they are somehow forced to explain in simple english in order to remain understandable.

I think that, especcially in a forum like this one, generally speaking it's a good habit to simply apologize and rephrase words if someone else expresses having understood the words different from what was meant. Like "Sorry, that was not what I meant...blabla".


>Being direct and to the point, as I have found the Dutch (having spent a bit of time with Frank Camp et al. in Weert on several occasions) to be, fits pretty well with me; but then, I don't fit very well in much of Southern US culture. <s>

I take this as a compliment on behalf of the Dutch. Thank you :)
You might decide to move to Holland, but you have far better weather overthere in Florida. Maybe we can exchange places. :)


>No problem jumping in; all opinions welcome.
>
>Hank
>
>>Pardon me for jumping in. For me, being Dutch and not a native speaker of English, the expression 'I remember a scam like that' is indeed interpreted to mean that 'that' is also seen as scam. So, I agree with Denis.
>>
>>But now a question. I didn't know that word, so I looked it up on www.dictionary.com (thesaurus). Which meaning was meant: fool, defraud, mislead, trick, false, overstate? Or are they all the same? If not, may it be that Denis had another definition come to mind than Hank meant?
>>
>>To be clear about my own position: I think that we all here should not be too softhearted.
[snip]