[Nottingham] Proposal

[Michael Leuty]

On Friday 04 Nov 2005 01:10, Michael Simms wrote:
> I would expect that most people who would join the events list would
> stay on the main list too, so as to not effectively split the group
> (which would in my opinion be a bad idea).

I'm not really in favour of having many sub-lists. "General" and "Geek" 
seems about right to me.

The amount of traffic on the current list is comfortable. I'm not 
interested (or, indeed, able to understand) all the postings, but that 
doesn't bother me, I just press the key to move onto the next message 
when foxed. And sometimes my interest is caught by a posting which I 
wouldn't have thought "a priori" to be useful.

If there are sub-groups of "meeting attenders" and "list only folk" then 
I'm sure we can continue to co-exist. The LOF won't mind the MA people 
arranging their various meetings/activities on the list, and may even be 
tempted to join in.

I suspect that what people really want is a sub-list "nlug-abuse" where 
all ranting and abusive postings would go, and to which they would not 
subscribe.

Friends (and especially enemies), such a list needs only to be 
hypothetical. The answer is always to count to 1010 before posting when 
we are angry, and never ever be rude about anyone. Polite expression of 
disagreement or disappointment makes much more effective advocacy. If you 
attack someone and tear their position to shreds, you only entrench their 
opinion by forcing them to devise plausible justification.

Human nature being what it is, intemperate postings will slip through from 
time to time. A mailing list cannot be moderated. Paul Mellors' forums 
have the advantage of being moderatable, but I prefer a mailing list 
where the postings come to me rather than me having to go to look for 
them.

My suggestion would be that there needs to be some sort of "light-touch" 
policing of this list, whereby an Official Person (in regulation blue 
uniform and large boots) makes it clear (in a genteel way) that abusive 
postings are not acceptable whatever the provocation, and should not be 
replied to. Apologies would be left to the discretion of the offender.

(I've still not read "that" 66-post thread to which I returned from 
holiday last weekend, by the way. Will I miss anything useful if I delete 
it unread?)

Mike L

-- 
Michael Leuty
Nottingham, UK