While it's true that upwards of 75% of the time I have no idea what Mark is talking about, it's also true that 95% of the time I find very little in what he says disturbing. Certainly I can't think of anything he's said that's justification IMO for booting him from Brin-L. I find a lot there that sounds like the cryptic rantings of a frantically unhappy man, but little if anything that strikes me as abusive or hateful. The cryptic business still strikes me as a kind of weird performance art, and I'll confess that I just skim or ignore most of it.
The fact that Mark has written a LOT of posts recently is irrelevant, I think. The fact that he has done so in no way interferes with the ability of others to continue their own threads except one: that is, Mark's rantings have a hypnotic, train-wreck quality to them that draws the curious eye. Still, nobody is obliged to read him, and his verbal promiscuity doesn't prevent the rest of us from shooting our own loads off. This brings us to the topics of sexually explicit speech and profanity. The artless use of either is boring and tedious, though certain frictional circumstances may justify a sudden ejaculation or two. I understand that some of us would like to protect children and make sure that Brin-L is a place where children may feel welcome. Personally, I would like to make sure that Brin-L is a place where adults may feel welcome and where children interested in becoming adults may learn positive things about the world of adult conversation, including possibly things concerning adult sexuality, responsibly discussed. This does not mean that I want Brin-L to become a source of pornography, but I've seen and read lots of pornography, and believe me: what Mark's writing ain't it. The question at stake isn't whether Brin-L is becoming a den of inquity -- it's not -- rather, it seems to be whether the children of prudish parents would be deprived of a marvelous source of wit and wisdom simply because of an occasional off-color comment. IMO, if the children of prudish parents in this day and age can't figure out how to circumvent their parents' censoring activities on their own, then they're not ready to be on Brin-L or any other grownup forum for that matter. Still, all this leaves the question of whether or not we're willing to boot somebody for being a nuisance. What's a nuisance? What percentage of Brin-L (including lurkers) must complain before we declare someone a nuisance? Who must be in danger of harm before we call someone a nuisance? I don't know, but I know that IMO Mark is way below any threshold of poor behavior I would want to set for booting listmembers. Marvin Long Austin, Texas
