[OT] A sincere request- for sanity.

[Matthew Copple]

On 8/16/08 8:59 AM, "Adrian Griffis" <adriang63 at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sat, Aug 16, 2008 at 12:15 AM, Luke -Jr <luke at dashjr.org> wrote:
>> Exactly, this is a group of Linux users. That does not exclude other topics
>> from discussion, provided those discussing them are Linux users.
> 
> I must say, Luke, that I am troubled by your response to efforts to
> contain the off topic hcatter on this list, particularly since you are
> often a party to egging on the off-topic flamewars.  Like you I want
> to avoid the strictest form of moderation, where no off-topic
> discussion is allowed.  But it sounds like you would have us live with
> almost no guidelines at all, and I fear that the flamewars you've
> helped prepetuate convince me that we must excercise some control on
> this list, even if it is largely self control.
> 
> Let me suggest to all on the list that perhaps it is time to start
> talking about some principles we might use to guide our own behavior
> on the list.  First, I'd say that any reasonable system of ethics
> should govern interactions between different parties is such a way
> that each party is offer some protected from the excesses of the other
> parties.  I think we've seen examples of excess in recent discussions
> on this list.  While we might have varying opinions about how much
> departure from the list's topics is permissible, surely most of us can
> agree that unlimited departures are not wwhat we want to see.
> 
> Second, I want to suggest a specific limit that we might all consider
> following in our participation in this list.  While some off-topic
> discussion could be acceptable, perhaps each of us could try to insure
> that the amount of off-topic list bandwidth we use does not exceed the
> amount of on-topic list bandwidth we use.
> 
> Any thoughts on this?

We went through this just a few months ago, when we reenacted the 30 Years
War through the list. The consensus was that the list works as it is.

Free Software advocates have a tendency to be as passionate about freedom in
all parts of their lives. Therefore, it is neither unusual or unduly
alarming to see those opinions expressed here. Frankly, I find it
refreshing, even when I am on the receiving end.

Nearly every keyboard has a delete key installed, and unsubscribing is not
difficult to do if the heat is too high in the kitchen.

Matthew Copple
mcopple at kcopensource.org