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
-------------------------------------------------
Chris O'Neill (coneill@xxxxxxxxxxx)
Web: http://www.nucleus.com/~coneill
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