[NCLUG] i don't give a toss about ISPs

[Tkil]

>>>>> "MW" == Matthew Wilcox <willy at debian.org> writes:

MW> ... or half the other non-linux crap on this list.  can we move it
MW> to a new list?  say geek-issues at nclug.org?  or would it be more
MW> effective to create a linux at nclug.org and move the actual linux
MW> stuff to it.

This two of main points of "local" groups and lists (such as NCLUG,
BLUG, SVLUG) are important here.  First, they are a forum for
discussing regional and local concerns.  Asking about ISPs seems an
obvious case of this.  

Second, and perhaps more importantly, they do foster a sense of
community.  Being able to ask people for help on-line is nice, but
there are thousands of places to do that.  Asking for help on-line,
then being able to talk to them in person because they're local;
having them understand regional references and problems; and being
able to stand them a beverage or snack if they've been particularly
helpful.  Those are all important.  I think that Splitting the group
would hurt that.

I personally agree with Paul R. on this -- at an average of 20-30
messages a day, NCLUG is not all that big a drain on my resources.

Also, I went through a phase when I wanted the forums I participated
in to only talk about stuff that I found interesting.  I got spanked
for this, and I've come to agree that it is the right response.  While
it can be aggravating to have to deal with "off-topic" conversations,
I find that I often pick up information and pointers that I otherwise
would have missed.

MW> it's my experience that oldtimers tend to feel they have the
MW> `right' to discuss cars/guns/sex/isps on the original lists and it
MW> sometimes makes much more sense to move the technical discussion
MW> to a different list, leaving the clique on the original list.

It's only a clique when it becomes exclusionary.  So far, you seem to
be the only person trying to exclude things here.

MW> maybe nclug is more mature than that.

Drop the guilt trip crap, please.

t.