META: ExI dues; list quality

Damien R. Sullivan (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Sun, 30 Nov 1997 15:12:44 -0800 (PST)


On Nov 30, 2:08pm, Geoff Smith wrote:
} Subject: Re: When was the last time an extropian post changed your life?

} > Actually we are about to make a change. To post to the Extropians list you
} > will need to be a member of Extropy Institute, although non-members will be
} > able to read only.
} "hows and whys"), but I think this decision may turn some good people off

} extropy institute implies you make less "noise." Some people may join the
} extropy institute for the purpose of making some noise on the list.

Given the $95 price tag on membership mentioned in the most recent
Exponent newsletter, this may not be too likely. Of course, it may
drive signal people away as well. A list membership fee of $8 hit the
list hard some years ago. $95? I don't think I can justify that to
myself. And the "benefits" were interesting: a t-shirt, mug, or
mousepad, oh my.

More interesting is the right to "sponsor one new member". This implies
either that future membership will be restricted to those spoken for by
members, which is disturbing, or (more likely) that a current member
gets to bring in one new one for free. Perhaps people will be more
likely to spring for that than paying lower fees and sponsoring their
friends directly. To me, it seems odd. And expensive.

} Others, who would contribute a lot to the list, may not be interested in
} joining the extropy institute, either for monetary reasons or because they

Not to mention the person who was happy to buy things from ExI, but
didn't want to join, because he didn't join institutions.

-xx- GCU Mangyn of Chaos X-)

A priest was walking along the cliffs at Dover when he came
upon two locals pulling another man ashore on the end of a rope. "That's
what I like to see" said the priest, "A man helping his fellow man."
As he was walking away, one local remarked to the other, "Well,
he sure doesn't know the first thing about shark fishing."