From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Tue May 28 2002 - 08:20:24 MDT
Hal writes
> I agree, and I'd break it down like this. There seem to be two
> issues here. The first is the consensus we have about what topics are
> appropriate for discussion on this list. This is after all the Extropians
> list, and for that title to have meaning then the name should impose some
> limits on the range of topics. There are other lists for other topics.
I agree that we should take your advice and before the
initiation of every discussion ask ourselves, "Is this
really a suitable topic for Extropians?".
But on the other hand, it seems to me that this decision
should rest with each individual contributor. So your
term "consensus" bothers me a little, perhaps only because
of its ambiguity. Consensus could mean that if enough
people vote against the discussion of an issue, the posters
become obligated to stop. I'd rather not see that.
To make the case concrete, consider an example. Somebody
starts some stupid thread about how one can best use a
motorcycle to run down and kill people, and it even gets
gory. What to do? The most immediate solution that ought
to occur to one is to simply stop reading that thread.
Good heavens, there is already too much to follow! But
it can be irresistible to at least sample it from time to
time: How depraved are these people? Is there after all
some substantial issue involved that I don't understand?
What can I learn about people in general from watching
this spectacle?
Well, I'm prone to this inquisitiveness as much as anyone,
but what's not in me is to say: "Hey you two! Quit talking
about that." Shouldn't we all fight the urge to tell other
people what to do in situations that don't necessarily affect
us? (Now I do not want to be misunderstood as advocating
"anything goes"--- I'm sure that the list monitors would
step in if some thread descended to personal abuse, or to
blatant pornography, or to *things that Lee Corbin cannot
in his infinite wisdom anticipate* right now. And so should
they rightfully step in. It is true, finally, that this
list is private property.)
Here I don't even get to Hal's second issue, and there's
more juicy stuff in the original post even after that---
but enough for now.
Lee
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