Erik Reuter wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 14, 2002 at 04:22:58PM -0700, Nick Arnett wrote: >>It's soiling the nest that we build together. > >"Soiling the nest that we build together" sounds like hippie >feel good stuff or melodrama to me. To me, Brin-L is a mailing list >to read and have interesting discussions. Maybe we are >diametrically opposed on this. See, now this is an interesting topic. Is Brin-L a community, albeit an electronic one, or is it simply an impersonal forum for opinionated polymaths to have it out? That is, do we have an attachment to each other that goes beyond the desire to, say, compare and contrast Kant and Kierkegaard (sp?)? Has the list become more than a bunch of strangers united by their enjoyment of Dr. David Brin's literature? Are we, or should we be, emotionally invested in each other? Here are a couple of pros and cons Nick's idea. Feel free to add or disagree: The pros: genuine concern for others' tragedies, like the passing of the Van Baardwijk's child, or my father's death from cancer. The esprit de corps, like when a person posts an Irregulars question, and even the people that maybe aren't their biggest fans stuill chip in to help them out. The sense that we've moved beyond just discussing things with strangers, to having stimulating disagreements with friends. The cons: The personal affronts sometimes given between parties during those discussions. The discussions that get heated, because certain people don't really like each other. It's harder for me to pro and con Erik's POV, but I'll try. Again, feel free to add or disagree. The pros: Dispassionate discussion. A certain intellectual freedom is more easily attained when you see everyone else not as friends, but more as potential allies or adversaries in any topic of discussion. That same distance keeps you getting emotionally entangled with people you've never met, and keeps the discussions on a more intellectual level. The cons: It's a cold place like this. No one is close to anyone, and after awhile the company of strangers can be depressing. Also, it suggest that the people within it may be disinterested in their fellow posters as human beings. Anyway, I thought it might be nice if this discussion could springboard into a more interesting debate on list philosphy. YMMV. Jim ------------------------------------------------ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!
