META: private filter option

The Low Golden Willow (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Mon, 10 Mar 1997 14:01:50 -0800 (PST)


On Mar 10, 12:11am, Lee Daniel Crocker wrote:
} > Is it rude to put people in my mail filter? I have 17 extropians in there
} > so far and the quality of the list just keeps improving! Tee hee!
} It's certainly not rude to do so, but it's not necessarily a good thing.

On the other hand, some people have high enough volume, and few enough
worthwhile ideas, that I have found it worth filtering them out. Deleting
lots and lots of messages takes some time, and more annoyance. Actually
I have four levels of filtering, manifested as four mailboxes:

/dev/null, for the few, the proud, the worthless.

junk, for those whom I normally don't read, but who occasionally say
something interesting. I figure if they do, someone will followup to
them and I'll be notified by the included text, and I might be able to
go back and read the original. If there's any need.

extro, for the bulk of the list.

select, a recent addition. The idea was that I might prefer to read
only a few guaranteed people when I was really busy, and ignore the bulk
list unless they flagged something interesting. I've actually generally
been able to follow the main list as well.

But, at Robin's suggestion I'll make that filter available to anyone who
asks. Send mail to

select@ugcs.caltech.edu

and about once a day I'll send you my select mailbox, probably with the
advantage of having been thread-sorted. Usefully replying to it won't be
possible; you'll have to go through the main extropians list to respond
in public.

Current selectees, in no order:

Anders Sandberg
Carl Feynman
Damien Broderick
Damien Sullivan (me)
Greg Burch
Tom Morrow
Max More
Robin Hanson
John Clark
Hara Ra
Hal Finney
Eric Watt Forste
Eugene Leitl
Alexander Chislenko
Jay Reynolds Freeman

I can think of other people who might be on the list, but they're either
gone or they've been very quiet.

ObDisclaimer: non-selectees are not considered worthless by any means.
They just haven't written what I've found to be consistently provocative
or amusing enough posts. I don't know if I meet my own standards, but
I've gotten some praise at least, and it's my filter.

Merry part,
-xx- Damien R. Sullivan X-) <*> http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~phoenix

"She wondered if one's time at college might be better served with
friends like Thomas than with lovers like Nick." -- _Tam Lin_