les, thank you for your extreme patience & for asking these questions...
it seems to me that over that past day or so that things have eased up & the discussions have started to reflect a wider range of subjects...maybe this is the natural course of things working their way back into balance... over the past month or more while the vast number of posts have been politically orientated (although i contributed, many i skimmed over due to details or length) imo, it has all been worth it to have inspired such beautifully written pieces such as those of bob murphy & lucy... it is so hard to limit discussions here to no politics because the definition of what would fall under this category is so vague...for instance could jenny have posted about the frontline show that i was unaware of? could people talk about issues surrounding children or animals or gay rights or any number of things that have elements of politics in them?...sometimes a post about an issue, when posted here, brings someone who has been mostly lurking, into the discussions with some incredible insights... however there is a big difference between people discussing issues & people spending days 7 weeks & large amounts of bandwith trying to convince others of their opinion on an issue...however, self regulation is key here...i agree that it would be a tough position to put les in, to ask him to step in & stop a conversation if it was going too far, but if he decides to do that i would respect his wishes... some have mentioned that they want less of the little personal 'in the know innuendo' posts that make it seem like a club here...however, it is precisely these kinds of posts that create such a unique culture here...i will never ever forget the jimmy olympic ice skating post that fooled a few newcomers...as they say in that commercial- priceless... basically i guess i am saying leave things as they are with the caveat that we all need to regulate ourselves better as to the nature, length & number of posts one of the things i value most about this list is the dissussion of world issues as well as music, movies & books etc from so many different perspectives & locations around the world... ******************************************** Kate Bennett: www.katebennett.com Sponsored by Polysonics/Atlantis Sound Labs Over the Moon- "bringing the melancholy world of twilight to life almost like magic" All Music Guide ******************************************** "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
