Hello, all. I hesitate to even post this, with it being after 4 am and I'm still trying to catch up on several issues, including what exactly to do about the way the silver list is going. I don't want being tired to interfere with the fairness of my response.
I do not know what exactly triggered the hostilities directed at Trem Williams. He's been very cautious in his dealings with my limitations on commercial activity, asking for approval for posting certain information or statements several times since coming aboard. If any of the participants would please explain to me, in private e-mail, the source of their feelings, I would appreciate it. I am trying not to play favorites. So if there is anything I have done or not done that should be discussed, I want to know about it, please. I would like to commend you all for cutting back on OT stuff a little bit, and encourage you more in that direction. The last couple of days have seen about 60 postings each, which is down a little bit from the peak levels of earlier last week. Specifically, I think we can safely afford to wind down the discussions of magnets and pyramids. This is not to say they are not interesting and useful topics, but we've already delved more deeply there than we have on most other off topic threads. And James Sullivan did a yeoman's job of bringing the pyramid topic back around to CS with his post on biocircuits. If you ever do the experiment, Jim, please report your results! Which brings me to the options I'm considering for our group. The best thing I can think of is to start a sister forum that can take the overflow from our discussions. I hope this action could let the silver-list continue to specialize in helping those who are working with, asking about, or using colloidal silver while still providing fertile ground for these free-wheeling and fascinating discussions we've enjoyed lately. And *enjoyed* is the right word, for those who participated and for the portion of the lurkers who appreciated the discussion. But I have also heard from folks in private e-mail who would like to see our focus narrowed again. All the energy of the last week or two plainly shows that many of you want a more free-wheeling forum with broader scope. I am *guessing* that several things about the silver list have made this work: The people: We've got such an eclectic and fascinating bunch of people who have gathered here, with a lot of openness and caring to boot. There's no end to the good you can do if given the chance. Moderation: I'm here and meddling enough to keep things from going completely to hell. Specific policies aside, just *having* someone to crack the whip when really needed makes for a safer, more stable environment for discussion. Non-commercial: I've worked to keep us from being inundated with spam. You've all responded generously in restricting your own commercial self-promotion. Limiting religion, politics: I've maintained a pretty strict policy on blatant evangelism, and discussion of politics except where it has at least some relevance to CS. This prevents no end of problems. Excluding debunkers: The only pre-requisite to joining up is that you agree that CS is worth studying. Anyone bent on disrupting the list or spreading disinformation is as unwelcome as a blatant spammer. Fostering community: This is a delicate balancing act, to allow enough chit-chat and off topic content to let us relax and enjoy each other -- without overwhelming the purpose and mission of the list. The "vision thing": Setting a direction, tone, and mission for the list. This allows us to know what is and is not on topic, how we should behave, and just what we're trying to accomplish. So, if I started up another mailing list, would you come on over and help recreate the excitement that caused this wild burst of activity here on the silver list? The only differences I would foresee is that our focus would be broadened to include most any alternative therapy or health issue, and for our mission to be helping people find their way to all viable options, not just CS. If, in the process, the silver-list fell back to fewer posts per day and became more focused on CS again, I would be satisfied. In no way would I try to restrict the topic of discussion overly tightly. But I would also hope to attract and retain the experimentors and experienced users that form the brain trust at the list's core that makes it useful to newcomers. The new list would be promoted as a high volume, higher noise list where people could sort through their options and get direction to other resources, kick around new ideas, and generally have a good time with other folks who have similar interests. I can see hosting it either here at eskimo, or over on onelist. In fact, the possibility of moving the silver-list to onelist as well is worth talking about. Any other technical guidance on hosting such a discussion forum would be welcomed. I'm looking for input. I can't see calling something the silver list that's mostly off topic. I sure *can* see trying to build a place where all this other stuff is *on* topic, and giving it the same nurture that has helped the silver list grow. I have to choose how to satisfy the conflicting and changing demands you're all making on me and on this list. Or, whether I *can* satisfy them or wish to be the one who tries. Let me know how you feel on these things, please. Be well, my friends, Mike D. silver-list owner -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
