On Sat, Jul 5, 2008 at 6:50 AM, Mark Williamson node.ue@gmail.com wrote:

The latter. We are trying to give a hint to people who post "too much" that perhaps they should cut back a little, without actually being all up in their business and being all like "HEY YOU STFU", you know?

A convincing discussion as to what's wrong with posting "too much" would work much better. So far it seems to come down to people not having decent e-mail readers and people who think that lowering the number of posts is somehow going to magically increase the quality. As for the latter belief, I've seen mailing lists try this, and I've never seen it work.

If a group of you want to go off and start a new mailing list with (soft or hard) posting limits, feel free. You have my full support.

Anthony

I can stop posting it if no one is interested.

~Nathan

Anthony wrote:

On Sat, Jul 5, 2008 at 6:50 AM, Mark Williamson node.ue@gmail.com wrote:

...

The latter. We are trying to give a hint to people who post "too much" that perhaps they should cut back a little, without actually being all up in their business and being all like "HEY YOU STFU", you know?

A convincing discussion as to what's wrong with posting "too much" would work much better. So far it seems to come down to people not having decent e-mail readers and people who think that lowering the number of posts is somehow going to magically increase the quality. As for the latter belief, I've seen mailing lists try this, and I've never seen it work.

If a group of you want to go off and start a new mailing list with (soft or hard) posting limits, feel free. You have my full support.

Anthony

I comprehensively endorse this view. I was personally quite astonished to read the view by one major wikimedia actor that they thought the foundation list should contract into a more thoughtful and rarely loquacious medium. By some magic not specified.

I would not have been so surprised if the person in question had not for long coasted on a reputation of being an alumni of the early intarweb. I guess there is a difference if you experience the web as a peon, and if you experience it as a mailing list moderator.

I have made reference to this before, and I certainly don't wish to make reference to it frequently in times to come. The documented case of a discussion medium being rescued from collapsing under off-topic and otherwise tedious talk, without parallel, is clearly that which James D. Nicoll was able (and yes, he has a wikipedia article, though perhaps just as much because of the quote that has been so oft attributed to Booker T. Washington et alia, but I digress...) to accomplish.

What is needed can be done by a very limited number of people. I suppose I could do it all by myself, if there were enough people who thought it worthwhile to respond to my postings of a non-contentious but philosophic nature, purely for the intent of drowning out contentious without thoughtfulness chatter.

Yours,

Jussi-Ville Heiskanen