[extropy-chat] Politics

[Harvey Newstrom]

On Dec 27, 2005, at 4:28 PM, Samantha Atkins wrote:

>> So the week-long "experiment" isn't over?  This is a permanent change 
>> to the extropy-chat list?  Arguing about politics is allowed and even 
>> encouraged?  You think arguing is a form of communication?  And that 
>> it does not drive away the patrons?
>>
>
> Actually a lot of us have decided to stop US-centric colloquial 
> squabbling or simple stimulus response on political hot buttons 
> getting pushed in favor of only having those political discussions 
> here that have direct bearing on extropy or distinct extropic content.

This sounds like the old rules.  What changed?  How does encouraging 
argument fit in?  I love this description so far.

>   We decide this one by one on thinking about it rather than through 
> some heavy handed ban.

There's that word "ban" again.  I missed the discussion where the 
entire list decided what it wanted.  But did anyone really request a 
ban or censorship?  These terms keep coming up, but usually from 
misunderstanding.  Few people actually encourage censorship, even 
though it is a common accusation.

> Sorry if that is not to your tastes.

None of this disagrees with my tastes.  It was the part about 
encouraging more politics, encouraging argumentation, and the desire to 
allow non-extropic topics to be discussed that disturbed me most.  
Everything you describe sounds like the original rules before the 
change, as far as I can tell.

--
Harvey Newstrom <HarveyNewstrom.com>
CISSP CISA CISM CIFI NSA-IAM GSEC ISSAP ISSMP ISSPCS IBMCP