Off topic kills value of the list and group

[jdawg]

forgive me for the top post: but I wanted to get  my point across.
this is a democracy, and you can cajole all you want to, but it won't change
the fact that some people will post what they will, and others will 
reply to it.

if you don't like the occasional posting of that kind -- excercise your 
right to hit
the delete key. or create a rule to delete all topics with that subject.

it is SO DAMN EASY, but I guess it feels better to complain -- although 
it takes longer!



Craig White wrote:
> On Wed, 2008-11-05 at 15:17 -0700, Alan Dayley wrote:
>   
>> I know several high quality people that either use Linux or want to
>> learn more about using Linux.  They were on the cusp but all had a
>> similar complaint: They thought this email list had too much off topic
>> and "silly," to use one person's term, stuff in it.
>>
>> After the recent "screwed" threads, how in the world do I get them to
>> participate?
>>
>> Please, as a group, let's not do do that again.  Ever.
>>     
> ----
> sounds reasonable but doesn't fly...mail lists always have their
> off-topic dalliances and learning to cope, delete, respond or whatever
> is just part and parcel of the medium. Perhaps we need another round of
> top or bottom posting, html mail suitability or just go for one of the
> tried and true pointless discussions such as vi or emacs/gnome or
> kde/which distro is best just to satisfy the notion that it isn't always
> politics.
>
> Yes, it has useless stuff...in fact, I would point out that the OP of
> the 'We are screwed' thread has a noise to signal ratio of about 90%. I
> do not ask that he or anyone be removed from the list and support his
> right to post as much as anyone's because I too can filter or just
> delete his nonsense as I see fit.
>
> While I appreciate that on its face, there seems little to be served by
> having a political discussion on list, it is encouraging to see a
> diverse point of view by the list members and while I have a tough time
> finding respect for low quality, unsubstantiated opinions typically
> expressed by Mike Havens, I do enjoy vigorous discussions for those I do
> disagree and it does help all of us recognize that there are disparate
> opinions. This is not a one-off type of commentary from Mike Havens and
> I'm quite sure that many are aware of that.
>
> My own personal disappointment stems from the apparent lack of interest
> in topics such as the H1B visas, the release of the white space
> bandwidth by the FEC and end up getting swamped by traffic about Obama
> being a Socialist which is about as stupid as political discourse can
> get these days.
>
> The easy solution is that people who sign up for mail lists learn how to
> use their delete key or better yet, the combination of 'threads' and the
> delete key can just kill an entire thread in a single click.
>
> Craig
>
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>   


-- 
Happy Trails!
Jerry (K7AZJ)
Hobbit Name: Pimpernel Loamsdown
Registered Linux User: 275424
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