Re: META: Voting to end list Threads?

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Fri Sep 06 2002 - 14:08:19 MDT


On Fri, Sep 06, 2002 at 11:59:23AM -0700, Loree Thomas wrote:
>
> > It occurs to me we have no formal process for
> ending
> > such threads.
>
> I don't think we need one. Most threads die their own
> death in their own time. The few topics that are
> endless have been dealt with in a fairly rational
> manner by the list owners.

I like to look at the list graph and see it change from day to day
(http://akira.nada.kth.se/~asa/Extropians/extropians.html) - see
especially the archive at
(http://akira.nada.kth.se/~asa/Extropians/Archive/). It really
shows how the threads vax and wane. And most threads survive
surprisingly short time even when they briefly have very high
traffic.

I don't think we need formal processes to deal with threads. When
a discussion gets disruptive it usually starts to branch out into
a lot of threads; it is rather the cluster of hotly debating
people who is the problem after a while. What is needed is rather
mediation or something like a moderator. Maybe we should find a
way of creating brief moderated sub-lists rather than try to deal
with the threads?

Personally I think the 8 posts per day rule is a good way of
reducing noise; I just wish I was better at keeping it myself.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y


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