On Nov 5, 2008, at 3:56 PM, Alan Dayley wrote:
> I agree that off-topic stuff will happen from time to time.  It cannot
> be fully prevented unless someone is tightly moderating.  Tightly
> moderating is not what I want to do or experience on this list!

Sorry to pile on, but I'd just like to add some observations.

We've had one major blowup a day after the biggest election in a  
generation.  We were pretty free of political OT stuff during the 2  
years (wow!) of the campaign, and I sense (hope?) that this particular  
thread is all drawing to a close.

These are exceptional circumstances, and if this is the worst that  
comes of it, I think we're doing fine.  This is self-regulation at  
work, just takes a while to put the brakes on a runaway garbage truck.

alex