> *Some* sort of restriction is truly necessary, given the atrocious state of
> the S\N ratio in the past few months. What happened to the idea that ExI
> members have posting privileges, while non-members can only read? That
> idea was very well thought out...I'm all for implementing it. That would
> almost totally ensure the lack of ad hominem attacks and flimsy posts such
> as the ones occuring recently.
I think the problem with this line of reasoning is that it assumes such ExI
ordination mysteriously bequeaths on the member a high signal/noise output
capacity. Although Extropy magazine has been a stable of good reading for me
over the past 8 years, the last issue (#17) came out more than a year ago. Lets
face it, this list *is* where the action is. Besides, as extropians and the
'Extropy Online' attest, we embrace the online world and all the that implies.
I thought this thread was started to address the issue of spam not S/N in
particular. If we restrict postings to those who are subscribe to the list,
this would be adequate in stopping the spam. Otherwise if the Institute is
looking for some extra money, then perhaps we could go back to the way it was 3
years ago, when we paid $14.95 per year to subscribe to the list. I suspect
there are many others who would rather pay a reasonable fee to participate in
this online community than pitch in the extra cash it requires to become members
of ExI.
Anyone else out there feel this way?
Paul Hughes
planetp@aci.net
http://www.aci.net/planetp