Quite apart from the current controversy, another perspective?
Maybe the list is attracting less participation because of the format. Mailing
lists are on the decline, while forums and tweets are more in fashion. An
example of a forum: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/forum
Betty ChanDate: Fri, 10 May 2013 17:58:47 -0700
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Is the b-hebrew list slipping?
Uri:
I can see the desires of the moderators who want to allow other voices to be
heard, voices that may be excluded from other fora because they are politically
incorrect. Yet, at the same time they want this to be a scholarly interchange.
That’s a tough balance to maintain.
Unfortunately, perhaps, that means that we as individuals need to learn to
police ourselves. One of those is to recognize who is incorrigible and then
resist the temptation to correct them when they make off-the-wall statements.
On Friday, May 10, 2013, Uri Hurwitz wrote:
The writer of the following enjoys displaying his ignorance, and has done
this for years in this list:
"...Aramaic appears to me to be but bastard Hebrew, and the genetic
relationship between Hebrew and Arabic is a mystery, and so any
search for a common ancestral language is, in my opinion, futile. I
dismiss "Akkadian" and "Ugaritic" as they are but tentative
languages, and of which I know nothing (and I don't think they are
worth the effort to "study".)
Isaac Fried, Boston University ".
He is not the only one on this list.
The worst consequence is that such nonsense drives away serious scholars in
the field who in the past used to contribute here.
Further, quite a few members are dissipating energy responding to the
drivel, although it is best to ignore it. I'm speaking from experience.
I take it a step further—I don’t even read their postings, so spare myself even
of thinking about how wrong they are. That also spares me of the thoughts of
trying to correct them.
Sadly, this list is slipping.
Too many strong egos, wanting to be correct? And to correct? How long would
they stay if no one but the moderators answered them, and the moderators only
to shut down threads where they are the only contributer?
Uri Hurwitz
Karl W. Randolph.
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