It's a ping because I've received nothing from the list for over 24 hours. I see from the archive that the list is up, so I can see from the (non-)appearance of this message if I'm still subscribed.
It's a fit of mild pique because I see from the list that the usual herd of yahoos has decided to piss on an interesting and serious subject to the extent that I'm now glad I've missed most of the pissing. If I'm not subscribed I may well stay that way since the grunts haven't the basic manners to stay out of threads that don't interest them, but instead choose to sabotage them. Bob
