> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2001 11:43:21 -0800 (PST)
> From: jeff davis <jrd1415@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: List Rules Part 1 (Was: Ad hominem? I think not.)
>
> I question whether this is, in fact, the consensus. I
> call for a formal poll of the list participants to
> determine what the consensus is, and, more broadly, I
>
> Shaun, cmon, the disclaimer is irrelevant. I would
> guess that people come to the list, check out the
> discussion, and, right or wrong, draw a conclusion
> about 'extropians' and the Extropy Institute. Loss of
> reputation is real. It is serious, it is substantive,
> and it is difficult to assess. Paul Hughes, having
> reached his limit, quit the list sometime back,
> reporting that his friends viewed the extropians as a
> bunch of fascists. How many others have similarly
> come and gone, invisibly?
Here's a datapoint for your poll. I've lurked for a few
months now and my general impression is that the list is
populated by techno-religious ideologues. "Facist" is
stretching it a bit, but the mindset is definitely parochial.
I joined the list to learn a bit more about extropians
and it's only because of the digest format that lets
me junk 90% of the postings that I'm still here.
Sturgeon's Law works for mailing lists as well.
(for a techno-savy group, it's odd that the digest
doesn't have topics summary header).
To complete the datapoint: I've been working
with computers since 1978, eventually ending up as
a professor specializing in graphics then moving
to industry to commercialize my research.
Cheers.
Dave
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat May 11 2002 - 17:44:21 MDT