David Heiser wrote:
> Its really too bad that we have readers out there who won't make the effort
> to separate the diamonds from the garbage. The basic concept of the internet
> supports a free interchange, which includes a lot of garbage. There are also
> some very large blue diamonds out there. Any forum has the hucksters, the
> peddlers, the idea promoters. It all is a huge fascinating convention.
David: If *most* EDSTAT readers were unwilling to make the effort it
would be "too bad" in the sense that I think you mean. What Jackie's
telling us is that under the rules that are being laid down to her,
*one* person unwilling to wear out their nice new DELETE key on spam is
liable to irritate the postmaster (who apparently shares this failing)
to the point where EDSTAT gets turned off.
In any largish, unmoderated group there *will* be -as you eloquently
point out- hucksters, con men, and putative widows of deceased Third
World bureaucrats. We ought to be able to put up with them, within
moderation, though I personally don't think they add _anything_ positive
to the atmosphere. Among other things, I get enough of this trash
anyway; if one piece a week (which is probably an overestimate) comes
via EDSTAT, I won't notice. It's basic thermodynamics - in a big enough
group you'll find dang-near anything, if simple existence is your
criterion.
By the same principle, there *will* also be curmudgeons and spoiled
children who expect somebody else to render their lives 100.000%
spamfree. They, too, should be tolerated within reason, even though
they, too, waste peoples' time and add nothing to the sum of human
wisdom or happiness. To get back to your felicitous metaphor, it's
unreasonable to say that we should allow hucksters, three-card-monte
men, pushers, and whores into the convention hall, but try to exclude
the bore who can't find anything to do but complain about their
presence.
As, apparently, the owner of the hall will not tolerate the bore, I
think that our hostess will have to issue nametags. (Go to it, Jackie!)
It's better than shutting down the party because of something that,
human nature being what it is, is otherwise certain to happen in the
long run.
-Robert Dawson
.
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