[wplug] Fwd: prometheus [radio] back in pittsburgh!

[Brandon Kuczenski]

On Fri, 16 Jun 2006, Shane Liesegang wrote:

> I've been on -- I can't even remember how many -- e-mail lists over the last 
> 10 years or so, and practically all of them run in to this problem at one 
> time or another. The less targeted a list, the more likely it is to go 
> off-topic.

...

>
> What about something about FairPlay being cracked? Can I assume that most 
> people who would be interested in Linux would also be interested in that? 
> What about new hackable hardware? Government wiretaps? Steelers draft picks? 
> Browns draft picks?
>
> You see the slippery slope -- with a group as broad as "Linux users" it's 
> really tough to determine what people consider "on topic."


Well put.

I'd like to observe that this discussion of off-topic posts reflects many 
of the qualities of the Free/Open Source Software movement as a whole.. a 
problem has occurred and we're trying to decide how to solve it, only it's 
a problem with a mailing list instead of a software project.  It's a 
rational discussion about the right way to do things.  And certainly a big 
part of the stigma that Free software users have against proprietary 
software is that it deprives us of our ability to do those things 
ourselves.


> Thus, the "laissez-faire" attitude of moderation is probably the best. Stop 
> the spam, but let any "real" mail through, regardless of subject. If people 
> aren't interested in it, it will die out eventually. A survey of the recent 
> traffic law thread shows a pretty healthy mix of participants; it's not like 
> 2 or 3 people were just bouncing back and forth. So it seems that there was 
> at least some kind of interest among the group.
>
> I assume everyone filters WPLUG mail to its own folder anyway -- if 
> you're technical enough to be interested in Linux, I would hope you know 
> how to filter your mail. That way there's no way for mailing list mail 
> to mess up your inbox and keep you from seeing something important. 
> Personally, when I look at my WPLUG folder and see 30+ messages since 
> the previous morning, I kind of roll my eyes and assume "uh oh, 
> something blew up." :-)
>

And then the next "thread", which itself represents a hijacking of an 
off-topic thread, becomes an opportunity for improvement of the list, for 
instructing people on how to filter their email, and for considering the 
utilization of some more sophisticated components of our software.

The subject of the original posting of this message,

> Prometheus Radio Project is going on the road across
> Pennsylvania! Did you
> know that there is a flurry of legislative activity
> -this year- in
> Harrisburg and DC that could impact your cable TV,
> your internet access,
> and much more?

though probably written by a political operative and forwarded by a 
political adherent, is of a similar structure.  The organization advocates 
for enhancing the ability of people to access communication technology, 
just as the free software movement advocates for enhancing people's 
control over their computers.  There's also things like Make magazine, 
common (I expect) in linux circles and published by O'Reilly.. it all 
becomes a subject of how the open source software philosophy can be 
applied to different areas.

So the thread had the ancillary benefit of helping our list technically, 
and I think there's a strong argument for its original subject being on 
topic after all.

-Brandon