[Blindtlk] Observation: Please stop unnecessary threads

[David Andrews]

Mike is right.  Leave moderation to the Moderator and let's drop all this!

David Andrews

At 09:58 AM 6/20/2009, you wrote:
>All:
>
>Having helped Dave for many years with list administration, I think the
>following is a fair approximation of the truth:
>
>(1) There will be threads that some of us consider irrelevant while
>others consider them worth discussion. Put another way: one person's
>necessity is another's frivolity. What any of the rest of us thinks is
>unlikely to change the mind of the person who starts the thread: debates
>are usually only won in debate meets!
>
>(2) It therefore follows that while comments stating one's position on
>the topic are in order, gratuitous comments which say much more than
>one's position or opining on the character, lineage, intent or moral
>fiber of the thread initiator will do little more than irritate everyone
>else including the person who started the thread. Such comments
>therefore waste energy and Net bandwidth and are, therefore, best
>avoided.
>
>(3) It follows from the above that the only person who should make
>decisions regarding list conduct and who should publicly comment on the
>relevance of threads or carry out list discipline is either the list
>moderator or the list administrator. Comments (either pro or con) which
>go beyond simple, reasoned, honest discussion is, at best,
>counterproductive, yielding far more heat than light and, at worst,
>contributes to the problem.
>
>Given the foregoing, I earnestly entreat *everyone* to let the thread
>(including remarks about anyone who commented on it) die an unnatural
>death and refrain from contributing to the problem of this or any other
>thread in the future. This does not mean one shouldn't participate in
>lively discussions. It does mean that we close ranks and let Dave
>Andrews do his job!
>
>Short and sweet: ENOUGH ALREADY!
>
>Mike Freman, who used to administer a bunch of lists for Dave