Re: META: Improving the list (was: Can we please dekookify the list?)

den Otter (neosapient@geocities.com)
Sun, 28 Feb 1999 16:55:18 +0100



> From: GBurch1@aol.com

> If a thread has drifted far off an original item of interest to transhumanists
> and extropians generally, PLEASE consider taking the discussion into private
> off-list correspondence or, perhaps, creating a list specifically for the
> discussion of that topic. There are many examples of such very worthwhile
> "daughter lists" that have been spawned by material that has been first
> discussed here, both sponsored by ExI and otherwise.

A nice idea, but it usually doesn't work. I'm on several of those daugther lists, and none of those have ever had any (serious) activity, i.e. they're dead. How's the NodeNet thing doing? My guess is not too well.

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 ;-)