I think Chris pretty well summed it up here...
I'm on a number of other lists, other totally unrelated things that I
won't mention. They all go through this from time to time unless there
is a moderator. I've yet to see one disintegrate - they always seem to
get back on track eventually. I consider it part of the deal and it's
worth it to me to filter what I think is noise because of the overall
content. Then again, I've got low $$ unlimited internet access...
Just my $.02
--
Jim
Chris O'Neill wrote:
>
> On 25 Sep 2000, at 17:13, Frank van Lindert wrote:
>
> A couple of very quick comments regarding the subject of off-topic
> messages:
>
> 1. While I agree that at times the "signal to noise" ratio gets out of
> hand (and I apologize for my contribution to the "noise" side of the
> equation), it's difficult in many cases to judge what's "wanted" and
> what's "noise." For instance, I'm not really all that interested in IR
> photography, slide scanners (well, truthfully I'm interested... just can't
> afford one), and some of the more "technical" discussions. While I
> admit they're more "on-topic" than, say, firearms, to me they're just as
> "uninteresting" and, therefore, "noise."
>
> 2. The only way to *really* ensure that there's no "noise" on the list
> would be to go to a moderated format where all messages are sent to
> somone who reads each message and posts only the ones that are
> "wanted." But, who's going to take on that responsibility??? Certainly
> not I! (Been there... did that... too danged much work!)
>
> 3. While I admit the occassional off-topic debate probably does annoy
> people (and again apologize for my participation), I feel it demonstrates:
> (a) the diversity of life experiences and opinion in the list, and (b) the
> overriding ability of everyone (for the most part) to eventually "agree-to-
> disagree" and get along with one another. And, in a way, isn't that a
> good thing???
>
> Anyway, the decision to un*sub*scribe is a personal one, and I guess
> we all have to ultimately decided whether there's enough "content"
> versus "noise" to justify the time, money, energy, or whatever that our
> participation requires. Again, if my participation in any recent (or future)
> off-topic debates causes someone to desire taking the un*sub*scribe
> route, I most humbly apologize!
>
> Regards,
>
> Chris
>
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