Sir: I appreciate this list more than I can say and I thank you for providing it. The type of response that one person made is pure left field-totally disregard that I hope. I will be agreeable to whatever "rules" you prefer. Again, thank you.
M. G. Devour wrote: > > 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]> -- 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]>
