We had this back when the list started. I was one of the first people to
pay for list access, including a membership in ExI to obtain a cheaper
rate. (In fact, I paid when Max made a similar pre-announcement, before
they were really ready to accept applications.)
As I recall, it didn't improve the signal-to-noise ratio. I believe the
intent at the time was to emphasize ExI's ownership of the list and their
right to control it. The actual effect, if I recall correctly, was to make
people believe that they had purchased the right to post. Those who were
told not to post on "forbidden" topics claimed to have been swindled out of
money.
I don't know if paying for access is a good idea or not. I do know that it
will change people's attitudes toward and participation in the list. I
previously paid for access, and will probably do it again.
I wasn't around when the list became free again. What was the reasoning
behind that decision? Have the motivating factors changed? I also was not
around when the PPL system of voluntary list-policing was abandoned. What
happened to the PPL experiment that governed the original list?
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Harvey Newstrom (harv@gate.net)