den Otter <neosapient@geocities.com> wrote:
> On a more general note: the main ExI list has had the good fortune
> of being very active (which is quite rare), and IMO any fancy
> software schemes of attempts to devide it into specialized lists
> would only hurt it, or even kill it. Most people like it plain and
> simple: one list, free for all with little or no rules. Of course,
> judging from previous debates on this issue, nothing will probably
> happen anyway, so there's no need to worry ;-)
I agree. After thinking about it, I think most schemes to filter the list could hurt the main list. I think a better solution would be to leave the main list alone. Start a second list that is filtered by an on-topic moderator. When people join, they can choose among the main list, the members-only list, the regional lists, and the filtered list. Maybe it could be a digest format. It could even include the title of the thread that is being filtered with a one-line note that this message was filtered as being off-topic, but is available on the main list.
An alternative would be to start using those suggested prefixes again, so that anybody can filter the list on their own. This sounds like the most "extropian" way to do it.
(Hey, look! There's a META: tag on this message! Someone already beat me to it!)
-- Harvey Newstrom <http://newstaffinc.com> Author, Consultant, Engineer, Hacker, Researcher, Scientist.