I do not want to say much about the person's identity, but that individual is not a deep lurker. The problem with the discussion was not that it was insufficiently academic. If that were the case, Lou's response would be right on target. Nor was the problem that I wanted to cut off people's opportunity to participate. Just the opposite. I wanted to encourage more people to participate. Nor was the problem that certain ideas have no business on the list. At first, I thought the discussion was healthy. The problem was that the discussion degenerated until it was mostly limited to two people, who were going back and forth in a style that was increasingly becoming personal. My experience is that people tell me that they hesitate to jump into discussions because they do not want to get involved in this kind of exchange. I would've appreciated hearing from people outside of North America bringing their perspective into the discussion.
-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
