[ExI] MAKE THE LIST GREAT AGAIN

[BillK]

On 16 November 2016 at 06:36, Giulio Prisco  wrote:
> I thought of a new subject line for this thread that bears some kind
> of affinity to the discussion that spawned it...
>
> The problem with the list is not too much politics, but too little of
> everything else.
>
> When I joined in the nineties this list was my main source of food for
> thought: Extropy, space, nanotech, the then emerging internet, life
> extension, AI, uploading... And a lot of politics too...
>
> Most of us are still still around and writing about the same things,
> only not here. The list has been mostly retired for years, apart from
> occasional bursts of activity. I am still here for emotional
> attachment, and I guess many others can say the same.
>
> I write and share a lot of stuff, but these days posting to Facebook
> or Reddit is so much faster than posting to a mailing list, and
> reaches many more people. Mailing lists are still the most
> decentralized option, but alas not as good as contemporary centralized
> alternatives.
>
> Should we try to restart the fire here? Or perhaps move to a Discourse
> (http://www.discourse.org/) board (like the Boing Boing forum)? Or
> some other platform? Or a subreddit? Note that Discourse and Reddit
> itself are mostly open source, someone would need to do the IT setup
> (and of course maintenance and admin) work.
>
> Thoughts?
>


Although I have a fair bit of computer experience I am opposed to the
Social Web developments that are currently fashionable. People like to
chat, but when everything is recorded and analysed it becomes an
enabler for governments and corporations to control and manipulate
populations.

So I don't use Facebook, Twitter, etc. I occasionally read Reddit
posts or watch YouTube videos, but never post there. And I have so far
resisted getting a smartphone. (A device which offers up almost your
entire life to official supervision and recording).

Mailing lists are slower, but that is a good thing. Preparing an
email, collecting references, considering options, all lead to a
better quality of response. When the list degenerates into short 'He
said, she said.....' type posts the quality quickly drops. That's why
Exi has a recommended limit of 8 posts a day. Posting quick posts
exceeding that limit means that you are spending very little time
considering the content of what you are posting. And probably just
trying to dominate the discussion and 'win' an argument.

Posting to Exi is not just a discussion between two or three people.
It will be read by many people who rarely post to the list but whose
time is valuable and don't want to waste time on the puerile stuff
that often streams through Twitter and Facebook.

Horses for courses. Exi should be / is different and I like it that way.

BillK