> Technically, this is not a democracy at all. It's an autocracy,
>and the only vote that matters is that of the often-quiet MJB.
Then it doesn't matter what anybody has to say, the final decision is up to
him, and judging by his silence, I don't think he has much of a problem
with it.
> Imagine lunch time at the local McDonalds fast food
>place, can you stand up and say "this is a democracy, I'm
>collecting votes to see who here thinks this food should
>be free!".
That's not a good analogy. No one "pays" for this list, and none of us
listers "own" it. So, presuming that we have the authority to say what
should and shouldn't go is a little presumptuous.
> Last time this came up, it was a very observable
>trend that the people who thought more chit chat should
>happen on the list were members of very few OR EVEN
>ONLY ONE list.
>
> I can understand their desires to expand their internet
>social life by branching out. However, they have to understand
>that the way to branch out is TO JOIN OTHER LISTS. If you
>like Frank Zappa, join a Frank Zappa list. If you hate cats,
>I am sure there are lists for that.
I'm on a few lists - actually dropped two recently, so I dropped my daily
email from 1,000 to 500 a day. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me, as my
mail program can sort by subject, and makes it easy to delete whole threads
at one swoop. I can also filter out by person, so if someone flames me, I
can just nip them in the bud. Yes, there are lists for EVERYTHING -
however, I would believe that the use of cats as an automotive tool would
be looked at as being slightly off-topic on the cats list.
> However, again, it is a mistake to assume that your perspective
>is everyone's perspective. There are guys on here that get more
>traffic than I do. It's enough dealing with my 400 messages a
>day when I have to wade through half of it which is irrelevant
>and off topic.
Not to sound like I'm trying to start a war, but you're assuming that your
perspective speaks for many people. And, go complain on your other lists as
well, because there is no way you're getting 400 messages a day from this
list! =)
> What about guys who get 1000+ messages a day? I think Kai
>for one is in that group. In order for him to get the MG
>info he wants, he basically spends a full time unpaid job
>deleting everybody else's Frank Zappas.
I hardly think it takes THAT long to delete mail. I know Kai knows how to
use his computer, he should know how to do filtering, threading, and
deleting.
> Again, things aren't so bad now, so that's cool. But let's
>keep it under control. Please, just use some courtesy. If you
>have something to say and it's worth saying, post away. If
>you have something to say but you aren't sure if it's really
>worth posting, think again. Maybe save the message unsent
>and decide tomorrow if it's worth sending. It may be just
>as irrelevant to you the next day as it would have been to
>the other 999 of us the first day.
Sigh. Maybe we should get a gestappo agent to read the posts, and flog
anyone who he feels is off-topic.
I guess the end of it is that who are we to decide what is on or off topic.
We don't run the list. I have seen this argument on SO MANY lists that I'm
just sick of it. The argument wastes even more bandwidth, and is sickening.
The only person who can make the decision is the list moderator.
BEN RUSET
(Working Transportation Wanted!)
-----------------------------------------------------
78 MGB Roadster (has seen better days)
89 Mercury Cougar (dead as a doornail)
-----------------------------------------------------
Homepage - http://www.monomouth.com/~bruset
Saftey Fast! - http://www.infi-pos.com/~oasis
^^^ Note: Under construction, and taking submissions!
|