OFF - Re: Political posts

[Anthony Nelson-Smith]

Might I add my tuppence worth?  Jane seems to be the person most complained against but I, likle numerous previous posters, have greatly appreciated her contributions.  I was a minor offender in posting some comments in favour of Palestinians rather than Israelis.  BDNow! comprises a group of liberal, like-minded and humane people whose advice and opinions on practical spirituality, particularly as related to agriculture and horticulture, is very valuable - but I also value your opinions on broader matters, even when I totally disagree with them.  The majority US membership helps to counter both official sources of US news or opinion and the far-right survivalist 'mountain men' who provide the only alternative opinions given in our normal news media.  I certainly have no group of friends with whom this sort of discussion, face to face, could possibly compete, and I know of no other comparable e-mail forum (can any of the critics suggest one?). After Stephen complained of the cost of receiving political messages, whether or not he instantly deleted them, I made a few sample timings and found that a BDNow message takes an average of just under one second to arrive on my screen;  I am connected by a normal UK telephone line, not a specialist broadband one.  This costs me peanuts - am I just lucky in this? I've marked this OFF, to suit anyone who is filtering all but mainstream messages.  Maybe we should at least take note of Allan's occasional requests and use OFF wherever appropriate, also changing the subject field as the nature of the thread changes?                                                    Tony N-S.