As a few of you may have concluded, I do not read this list on a regular
basis. I have followed it here and there over the last few years, but lately
whenever I check it out for a bit the conclusion is always the same. The list
just isn't what it used to be. Excuse me a moment while I grab my cane, pull
up my rocking chair and settle back in my memories.
This list used to be a pleasant diversion, a varied collection of intelligent,
responsible folks who enjoyed autocrossing, knew how to handle a keyboard
and treated fellow list members with respect. It was fun to be a part of
it all. After a decade of building an electronic community the "Driver to
Nationals" campaigns highlighted what was worthwhile about this list as more
and more folks got tied into the possibilities of an expanding mode of
communication.
These days, the list still has a varied collection of intelligent, responsible
folks who enjoy autocrossing and have a clue about behaving in an acceptable
manner. The downside is that the previous description does not apply to each
and every subscriber, and I fear the percentage is dropping. Now list members
have to contend with incessently yammering airheads, who just don't seem to
realize that quantity and quality are two distinct concepts, and spew forth
their opinions on each and every topic to come along. There are folks who post
regularly but have nothing constructive to add, the list just provides them an
opportunity to blabber on, possibly fulfilling some personal agenda unrelated
to the list. Some folks just live to taunt, and love it when some poor,
unsuspecting newbie actually engages them in conversation, unlike the more
knowing subscribers who don't fall for such traps. Now would be a good time
to lambast those who can't even figure out how to do minimal editing of the
included text in their replies, but I'll try not to get sidetracked. That
may be an issue in a week or two, stay tuned.
As I've said in the past, lists the size of this are a lot like hanging out
at the corner bar with a thousand or so of your closest friends. You've got
the group of buddies at your table, just trying to enjoy the evening. You've
got the annoying loudmouths drowning out the real conversation, you've got
the shy ones in the corner that you'd notice if you made the effort to do so.
There's that a-hole, pestering folks who are just too polite to tell him to -
well, use your own imagination for a closing phrase here. And you've got the
sales folks trying to hustle a buck, which is what prompted the discussion
leading to this note.
In truth, I myself am working on a sales pitch, as some of you may have
already seen. You should be seeing an address confirmation and pledge drive
note coming along soon, I'm maybe halfway through the 80 or so lists served
from autox.team.net. My pitch is that I'm trying to cover my out of pocket
expenses for the net connection and such involved with having the server here
in my basement at home. I am not a professional trying to sneak in a batch
of free advertising on a continual basis. That would be rude, unwelcome and
not within the guidelines of this list.
Commerce does have its place, though. One example is the autojumble list,
which I set up for both individual and commercial messages about stuff for
sale, parts wanted, and such. Another example is Byron Short and his Geez!
products. Certainly autocross related, but not something everyone would
want to read about all the time. So there is a geez@autox.team.net list
set up for user discussion, product announcements and such.
On a list this size, one cannot keep 100% of the people happy 100% of the time.
Actually, that is hard to do on a list a tenth this size! There's always
something that will annoy somebody. Sure, it would be nice if each and every
post to the list was from an intelligent, responsible and articulate person
providing useful, pertinent information. Email paradise, what a concept.
But when you sign up for this list an unfortunate side effect is you get
the idiots, a-holes and whatever along with the rest of it. Ignore them,
they won't go away, they don't have enough working brain cells they can scrape
together to realize they are idiots. As you sit there fuming, typing away to
make sure you get your log thrown on the fire before the flames die down, you
may want to ask yourself the question "Who controls my life at the moment,
them or me?
mjb.
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