From: Brian Atkins (brian@posthuman.com)
Date: Thu Apr 26 2001 - 11:44:06 MDT
Jim Fehlinger wrote:
>
> Brian Atkins wrote:
>
> > To the apparently few actual Extropians (the capital "E" ones, you know
> > who you are) left on this list, may I suggest we spend the next few weeks
> > doing some serious schooling and "education" of the sizable crop of newbies,
> > trolls, and gibbering incompetents who have made this list almost unusable?
>
> You know, not so very long ago (mere weeks, in fact), I would
> have taken a blast like this very much to heart myself, checking
This was not intended towards you or anyone else who makes relevant,
actual-information-containing, interesting, etc. posts to this list.
> Now I'm more inclined to shake my head at the crude attempt to use
> this sort of generalized guilt as a tool of intimidation, rather than
> some more entertaining and enlightening form of social control
> (argument, anyone? wit? humor?).
Unfortunately some people here if left to such "light touch" methods do
not respond; rather they take it as an opening to push the envelope
further and further. And they tend to end up drawing in other people
with similar views. If left unchecked, this ends up turning the whole
list into mediocrity. So sorry if someone had to finally say something
loud enough to hear, but if it cleans things up a bit then mission
accomplished.
>
> I have never, in fact, called myself either an extropian or an
> Extropian, and I think one of the great things about this list is
> that it's not necessary for me to do so in order to post here. If I had
> to sign something equivalent to the Thirty-Nine Articles in order to
> participate here, I'd be gone.
Right-o. I have no problem with non-extropians posting here- what I have
a problem with is people who come here simply to insult us, attack us in
a troll-like fashion (not interested in actual debate), or who simply
have read so little of this list's past that they repeatedly rehash old
old old issues while adding nothing new. I can't fully fault people on
the last part since the list archives are hard to search currently.
<rest snipped for Eliezer to respond to>
-- Brian Atkins Director, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence http://www.singinst.org/
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