From: Extropy Institute (exi-info@extropy.org)
Date: Tue Aug 29 2000 - 23:34:15 MDT
This new Welcome Message will go out to all new subscribers. Since the List Rules have been revised, please take the time to read that section.
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WELCOME FROM EXTROPY INSTITUTE PRESIDENT MAX MORE
Welcome to the Extropians List! This List has hosted innovative discussions on the Internet continuously since 1991. We welcome innovative discussions pertaining to scientific, technological, philosophical, artistic, economic, and social perspectives on the future.
If you are not familiar with extropian thinking, I suggest you read the posts for a while before you begin to post. You will gain an idea of how the list works, and see how the range of topics varies from week to week and month to month. If you read only one document to get an idea of the attitudes and values shared by extropians despite all their diversity, please read The Extropian Principles 3.0. You can find this at:
http://www.extropy.org/extprn3.htm
You will find many other essays, including the FAQ at Extropy Institute’s web site at:
http://www.extropy.org
Please carefully read the List Rules below, followed by more information about the Extropians List.
Onward!
Max More
President, Extropy Institute
more@extropy.org
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L I S T R U L E S
We have a few rules about how you interact with the list. Your continued subscription indicates your acceptance of these rules. We do not like rules for their own sake. The List rules are just those we believe will keep the level of discussion high and polite.
PERSONAL ATTACKS: We do allow personal attacks or libelous statements. Those violating this rule may be removed from the List without notice.
If someone attacks your character, insults you, or otherwise violates the above rule, do NOT retaliate in like manner. Instead, send us a complaint and take the matter off-list.
COPYRIGHT: It is a violation of our Rules and United States law to copy material from copyrighted sources and post them to the List. Short excerpts and summaries are fine. Repeated violators of this rule may be unsubscribed without notice.
ADVERTISING: It is against our rules to advertise or solicit business without our permission. Many people online do not want to see solicitations and sales messages when they are trying to read a high-density discussion list. Certain kinds of solicitation may be permitted, but our permission must first be obtained. Violation of this rule may result in termination of your subscription. [Personal professional announcements or discussion of personal professional activities are appropriate to the list, if they generally relate to the over-all subject matter discussed there.]
This is a private forum. We reserve the right to unsubscribe anyone at any time.
Thank you for your cooperation in making the Extropians List a stimulating and enjoyable forum.
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ABOUT THE EXTROPIANS LIST: UNSUBSCRIBING, ADMINISTRATION, POSTING PROTOCOL.
If you post to the Extropians List, you must anticipate that your writing might be forwarded to another list or to particular individuals. Postings will appear in a publicly-accessible archive at the following
URL: http://www.lucifer.com/exi-lists/extropians
1) Formal complaints and administrative requests should be sent to:
postmaster@extropy.org (except sub and unsub requests, which go to <majordomo@extropy.org>)
2a) Mail to the list should be sent to:
extropians@extropy.org
2b) The software that processes traffic on the list alters the mail headers so that all correctly working mail readers will automatically address replies BACK to the LIST. [reply-to: extropians@extropy.org]
2c) If you want to reply to an individual poster you should manually address a reply. If the post does not have a signature line, viewing the message in a text editor should help you determine the sender's address.
2d) It is strongly recommend but not required that all list members use a signature file containing their e-mail address.
3) Due to the volume of list traffic please restrain yourself from over-quoting previous posts -- just a couple of lines to re-cap for those who weren't paying attention is usually sufficient.
4) Traffic on this mailing list can run quite high. We like to keep the signal- to-noise ratio as high as we can, so please restrain the impulse to post "me-too" messages or ad hominem flames to the list at large. If you cannot resist engaging in such discourse, please do so in private e-mail.
5b) Posts about the list, or its rules, should have the pre-fix "META:" We encourage the use of other prefixes indicating the content of a post. Examples include, PHIL:, MATH:, SCI:, CHAT:, etc.
5c) Polls being submitted to list members will have the "POLL:" prefix.
As List member Hal Finney wrote:
"Extropianism is a philosophy of life. Max More, editor of Extropy, has identified five Extropian principles [referring to an earlier version of the Extropian Principles]:
- Boundless Expansion
- Self Transformation
- Dynamic Optimism
- Intelligent Technology
- Spontaneous Order
"You can see that the basic point is a belief that the future will allow virtually unlimited expansion in the possibilities for our own personal lives. Extropians reject limits imposed by outsiders on what we can do and what we can become. We embrace the future, with all of its awe-inspiring possibilities.
"[Referring to the reading list at the Extropy Institute website,] The role of [these] books is to show that these aren't just idle musings and hopes, but are well-grounded expectations about what we are going to have to work with in the next century. Without having read those books, such common-place Extropian ideas as immortality or a world without governments might seem absurd.
"If you haven't read these books but want to ask questions about these and other Extropian ideas, the problem is that the answer is usually going to be, first read the book. You can't answer a question about the possibility for [physical] immortality in a page or two, not in any kind of convincing way.
"Now, after you've read some of these books, you still may not agree that all of these ideas are practical, but at least you can discuss them on common ground with other list members. That kind of discussion is practical, helpful, and informative. Extropians are not dogmatists. If there are practical problems standing in the way of the realization of their hopes and ideals, we should be discussing them now, so that solutions can be found.
"Of course, some people will be opposed to Extropian ideas not because they seem impractical, but because they seem immoral. Re-read the list of Extropian principles above. If you don’t agree with them, if you don’t agree that we should attempt to break through all the limits that constrain us today, then you probably won’t benefit from discussion with Extropians.
"To sum up, the Extropians lists welcome members who share an interest in the exciting, optimistic, future-oriented philosophy of Extropianism. If you're new to these ideas, they can offer suggestions to help you find books, authors, and other resources to learn more about what we can and will become. If you're more experienced, they offer discussion and feedback with a high level of quality and responsiveness. The future is coming, and the Extropian lists offer you a chance to get ready for the fantastic opportunities that await us all."
End quote.
For more information about Extropy Institute activities contact: exi-info@extropy.org
Or visit www.extropy.org
You can join as a member at www.extropy.org/join.htm
Our second website, for news and commentary is at: www.extrodot.org
Enjoy the List.
David McFadzean
Manager of the Extropian Mailing List
and
Max More
President, Extropy Institute
Extropy Institute Admin
exi-info@extropy.org
http://www.extropy.org
Membership form: http://www.extropy.org/join.htm
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