Refusing to comment for a story is one thing. But some people get downright testy about it.

Last week, a Crimson reporter called the Harvard Independent and left a message asking the weekly magazine's business manager to comment for a lighthearted feature.

Several hours later, the manager, Ted Berk '94, called back, just as the reporter was busy laying out the next day's Crimson.

"I don't think I'll be able to comment for that story," Berk said.

"OK," the Crimson reporter responded, "but I'm really busy right now. Could we talk tomorrow, and at least then I'll be able to take notes on your 'no comment?"

"No," Berk said. "And anyway, that was off the record."

Knowing that off-the-record conversations with a reporter must be prefaced with the statement, "This is off the record," and knowing that Berk considers himself a journalist, the Crimson reporter informed Berk that the conversation up to that point was, in fact, "on the record."

"C'mon," Berk, growing testier by the second, responded. "Don't be a dick."