On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 10:07:24 EST, you wrote: >Thank you for clarifying the list purpose. I had just joined from the >biofuel-biz list, as that list was ending, and had not completely understood >the much >wider scope of this list. It was a question, afterall, not a complaint. > >Tom Leue > > >----------------------------- >Homestead Inc. >www.yellowbiodiesel.com
And welcome to the list, and a very valid question on your part I think, even if there are those of us who have different uses of the list than you might. We are all pressed for time, and many of us have had experiences where there are just too many lists with too much to offer, with often quite a bit of overlap in topics, and many of the lists get out of control in one way or another. I often feel emboldened to discuss not-directly-on-biofuel topics here on this list because the moderator seems to encourage that by his own posting decisions, up to a point. He is interested to discuss various topics involving sustainability, and he also includes some current-political-events discussion in his decision-making. I do try hard to vet my topics to energy-policy-related and biofuel-related. I also have made an effort over the years to tone down some of my crossposting, to bcc now instead of just cc'ing (because the cc'ing can get disorienting), and to try to bear in mind that even if one group moderator encourages these somewhat wide-ranging discussions, that does not mean that all list participants are that interested in non-biofuel-directly-related. The way Keith has set up this list, integrating it so aggressively with the archives and with his web pages, I think that (hopefully) somewhat alleviates the difficulties caused by the robust not-directly-on-biofuel-making-topic posting. We seem to get posts here which reflect that a person has been doing a great deal of research in the archives or the web page. And, in the end, no list is perfect. Period. So, sure, a very well-intended discussion participant might find a better biofuel list, for their purposes or personality. Keith takes some risks, based on how he feels like running a list. It's sort of a double-edged sword, in my view. I did try to start an energy-policy-specific discussion group, because I think that's often my specific focus, but it hasn't attracted any members. I do use it though to post to, as it provides a focus for my own thinking. I have started one or two other groups (invention) that have a few members, though there's not much posting. And for general alt-fuel-vehicle discussions, there are actually quite a few other groups (with, in my view, much worse overflow-of-information problems, some of it quite valuable, some of it crap). Also, I ended up starting the evworld.com discussion group, affiliated with Bill Moore's webzine, where pretty much any well-intended discussion of EVs, Hybrids, alt-fuels and energy-policy-related issues is welcome (reflecting the open-ness of the editor's choice of webzine topics). Anyway, on the issue of the biofuels-biz list, one thing I wanted to say is that sometimes (often? always?) the name of the list is of real importance. I have been guilty of joining lists in the past without at first taking a hard look at the charter.... just really going by the name. And in the case of the biofuels-biz list name, a lot of us say: "GOOD! Someone wants to encourage the production and trade of biofuels beyond the scope of Do-It-Yourself-For-Yourself!" Or some such, with many other permuations one can put on that hope. So, in a way, it's the existence of the group name which in itself seems to make the ongoing argument for the existence of the field. With such a background in counter-large-business if-you-want-it-done-right-you-have-to-do-it-yourself culture, many biofuels enthusiasts may be intruiged just by the very idea of building the biofuels efforts into a business culture environment. Just a theory. I don't think Keith or anyone else owes it to anyone to continue list-moderation-activities for which they don't have time. MM Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
