<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On Dec 27, 2005, at 2:56 PM, Harvey Newstrom wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">On 12/27/05, <B>Samantha Atkins</B> <</FONT><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" color="#0000ee" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #0000ee"><A href="mailto:sjatkins@mac.com">sjatkins@mac.com</A></FONT><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">> wrote:</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">I have seen topics purged to</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">other lists only to have some topics and discussions silenced. It</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">was not at all helpful to the community.</FONT></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">A very interesting reaction.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>I can only imagine that the participants really had no interest in discussing the topics at all.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Or else, why would they stop discussing it when the disintersted parties stopped listening?<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>What is it about political arguments or flame-wars that make people refuse to take it offline or elsewhere?<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>Why must their political insults and putdowns be made in front of an audience to have meaning?<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>And is it true that the discussion has no value if the audience is not present?</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Perhaps but I think the topics were sufficiently important in the context of the original list that moving them elsewhere lost context, Also, if we say effectively "all this political stuff many of you think sucks will move over here" a lot of even the people who think politics important will not use the other list. I am not sure of all the reasons why. Some of the most passionate voices who actually care a great deal about the community and its main topics but also care about political things become frustrated and leave. At least this is what I saw before. Although in that case the filtering and moving of political messages also seemed to be biased to certain types of politics, specifically more libertarian views. This added to the failure of this "solution".</DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">I think this reaction encourages my belief that the topics were a waste of time.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>I think any valuable topic, with actually facts, exchanges of ideas, and real debate, would flourish and thrive if it were moved to its own special section meant specifically for that purpose.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>In fact, I would love to see my own personal favorite topics split off this list and made into special lists just for those topics.<SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN>This would be so focused, on-topic, and limited to those truly interested individuals, that it would be wonderful.</FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I haven't seen this work and I don't believe it will re politics on this list and community.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>- samantha</DIV></DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></BODY></HTML>