I think the argument of whether or not various topics should be allowed in
this list or not has gotten a bit out of hand. Lets quickly look at both
sides and see if we can come to a conclusion.
First we have those that want to post about seemingly unrelated topics.
Should this be allowed? The argument has been made that some people have to
pay for access and should be spared the undue burden of paying for time to
download messages of a non-relevant topic. While this may be a good reason,
it's being argued by the wrong person/people. I have not read a single post
from someone who is on a pay per minute/hour type account and who feels
burdened by this. By allowing posts of an unrelated nature we do run the risk
of this becoming an open forum to discuss anything and everything. There are
better places for discussing unrelated topics if it's ongoing.
Second we have those who wish to post about seemingly unrelated topics in
this list for several reasons, one of them being that they feel comfortable
with those that frequent this list. Trajedy affects different people in
different ways. Some need to quietly reflect and work through it on their
own. Others need to talk to someone, anyone about what has happened. We each
have our own way of coping with sorrow and loss. Once you have been on a
mailing list for a while, it starts to become familiar and you feel safe
within the list. You build friendships and you start to know one another. You
feel safe discussing things with other members of the list that you wouldn't
want to discuss with strangers so rather than go to a different list and
discuss these things with strangers, you discuss them here among friends.
This list is for the people by the people and if we as a whole want to allow
off topic conversations, then we should allow it. If not, we shouldn't.
Either way, we need to remain respectful of each other and not let our
emotions get the best of us. I've seen several postings come through that
were nothing more than attacks on other members of the list. That is uncalled
for.
We all have (or at least we all should have) a delete key as well as most of
us have filters that can block messages (to some extent) that we don't wish
to receive. I don't mind receiving emails about other topics. I joined the
list to offer assistance on any subjects that I am familiar with as I have
often struggled with Linux over the last 18 months since my first
installation. I have worked through a lot of problems and have had along the
way and I'd like to help others. But that help doesn't have to end with
Linux. We are all human. We all feel pain, sorrow, loss, etc. Most of us feel
very bad about what happened recently and the impact that the events will
have on the families directly affected as well as our nation and the world.
We need to be able to express ourselves when the need arises without worrying
about which list we are posting too or whether the topic is relevant. If I
receive a post that I don't care about, I can hit the delete key and it's
gone, end of story (I don't as I always keep everything just in case I want
to refer back).
I suggest that before anyone gets offended to the poing of leaving the list,
we have a show of hands, or in this case a show of posts as to who wants to
allow other postings, and who does not. I'll start by saying that I am in
favor of allowing off topic postings as long as they do not flood the list. A
few here and there don't hurt anything. We are here for Mandrake Linux but
there are other things to life and sometimes we need to discuss those other
things.
Gary
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft?
Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
