[aklug] Re: Enough

I will say I agree, both with you and the follow-up from Christopher. I
know my political chain is easily tugged, and sometimes it takes real
effort to keep it off the list.

That said, I don't think it belongs here. There are places for it, but
it ain't here.

Thanks,

On Tue, 2010-06-08 at 21:06 -0800, Royce Williams wrote:
> Bruce Hill said, on 06/08/2010 07:34 PM:
> > On Tue, Jun 08, 2010 at 01:15:01PM -1000, Lee wrote:
> > If freedom of speech is banned on this list, and the previous political
> > threads and threads about petty gripes are allowed, please remove me from
> > the list mate.
>
> Bruce, I am not trying to infringe your rights. Also, please don't
> think that you are being singled out; it's just been quite a long time
> since an OT political thread escalated this quickly. I also think that
> the ASD threads probably should have been squashed earlier. And not to
> pick on Lee, but I also think that his comment tried to get in the last
> word a bit too slyly. :-) Let me explain my reasoning.
>
> AKLUG's primary topic is Linux ... on paper. In practice, and in the
> absence of another geek forum, our de facto topic is computing
> technology in general, with a strong Linux leaning. We occasionally
> have OT threads. They make the discussions more interesting. But we
> (usually) quickly return to what I believe most of us come here for: to
> geek.
>
> My objections to divisive non-technical discussions on this list are
> threefold.
>
>
> 1. Divisive OT topics degrade the usefulness of the list.
>
> I go to a national license plate convention every year. Our goal is to
> buy, sell, swap, display, and learn about plates. Many of the attendees
> are crusty old bastards from all over the political and religious
> spectrums, who are also still torqued off at some guy who swindled them
> 30 years ago ... but we all still go. This is because there is a
> "gentleman's agreement" in which we pretend that we wouldn't throttle
> each other in other forums. :-) Without that, there'd be ten smaller
> conventions. We would benefit less, have to travel more, etc.
>
> The people who get the most done -- and have the most fun -- are the
> ones who set aside their differences to just talk about their common
> passion. It's a blast -- and also very, very efficient.
>
>
> 2. Topicality is a minimum, not a luxury.
>
> In today's digital world, I believe that free speech translates into the
> right to put up a blog, web site, or join a forum that is topical for
> the items that someone wants to discuss. It does not translate into
> being able to talk about any topic in any forum. There are simply too
> many information flows to do otherwise.
>
>
> 3. Emotional topics get in the way of my geeking.
>
> Adrenaline is not conducive to precise analysis and clear-headed
> learning. FMRI scans of people having political discussions clearly
> show that reasoning shuts down and emotions rule the brain - regardless
> of your position. I can get caught up in it as much as the next guy --
> which is what worries me. :-)
>
>
> In summary: I want to talk politics on the AKLUG list just about as much
> as I want to tune a motorcycle engine at the dinner table on a first
> date. It's loud, messy, unnecessary, inefficient, and makes a bad first
> impression. :-) A place for everything, and everything in its place. I
> am all for discussing politics -- in a different forum.
>
> I'm not trying to squelch free speech; I'm trying to conserve mental
> bandwidth.
>
> My $0.02.
>
> Royce
> ---------
> To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
> with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.
>

---------
To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.
Received on Tue Jun 8 22:29:15 2010