META: future list infrastructure

Eugene Leitl (Eugene.Leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)
Sun, 19 Jan 1997 11:39:36 +0100 (MET)


I don't want to be appearing to nag, being a newbie on a voluntarily
maintained list (BIG thanks go to the sorely tried list/site admin) of
seasoned extropians. However, I am really looking forward to the planned
reformed structure of the mailing list, as Max More has hinted at some
time ago. Cart, horse, and all.

Some symptoms of the dread disease: a noticeable fraction of technically
minded people have unsubscribed from the list (no name naming needed,
nay, but I do miss them), their informal reasons being mostly too low
signal/noise ratio. A kmail a day keeps the disk doctor away. Maybe, but
my eyeballs are sore, my delete finger has a case of RSI from hitting
rubout and my telecom fees (use an offline mailer, stupid! or consider
relocating to a less telecomically challenged part of the geoide...) seem
to hint at a novel kind of Singularity, a potentially financially
ruinous one. Ack.

We need is a number of channels, where each individual can select a set
of them optimally tailored to his gusto -- mine happens to be tech
discussions/planning/coordination of projects -- doubtlessly other
distinguished participants have their own private set of preferences
(META:ART:PHIL:MEMETICS:AQUAPE:WHAFU^H^HTEVER). We already have the
transhuman list I perfidously flood with technical FYIs (congratulations
to the brilliant scheme of bringing strayed transhumanists heim ins
reich, btw, it was _sneaky_) -- admin's consent granted feel free to do
likewise. Thanks muchly. Otherwise, kindly point me towards a
transhumanist-flavoured tech forward/discussion list... does such a
beast exist? Or does the modest wish to strive towards becoming a meek
immortal god render one automatically a wild-eyed-chaplinesque-mimic-
spittle-fly-widely-shunned-lunatic, to be pitied at best, shot on sight
at worst? Unbidden, the image of the archetypal cryonicist caricature
comes to mind...

Anyway, a list server script suite is sure a resource hog (entiam non
sunt...), (un)subscribing a chore, so a different solution is needed.
Frankly, forced use of keywords (periodically reposted updated keyword
list?) in subject lines and a preference list (list of keyword tokens in
body of message? ALL keyword for the whole hog? ~topic exclusion?) for
each participant is the only thing I can think of readily. Ye perl/python
wizards (those with a lot of free time on your hands) please step forth.
Comments welcome.

ciao,
'gene