[Tagging] This list requires moderation

[Dave F]

On 07/02/2021 12:10, Frederik Ramm wrote:
> Things that I see too often:
>
> * Repetition of one's own arguments. If you say something, and someone
> else opposes that, simply let it stand. You have said your thing, the
> other guy has said their thing, you don't need to say "but I still think
> that" and then repeat everything in other words.

I fundamentally disagree with this. Within an argument if a point bears 
repeating from an onslaught of of 'ah yes, but what about...' or 'oh, & 
another thing...' (which is often the way arguments proceed)  it shows 
the point is robust proving its validity.

> * Repetition of someone else's arguments in different words. All too
> often we have five people essentially saying the same thing in slightly
> different words. Everyone believes that the other person has got it
> *almost* right but they want to add one tiny bit, or stress another
> aspect, and boom, there goes a new three-page essay.

Again, shows a point has validity in numbers.

If extended discussions are too tough for you, just ignore them,

The rest of your comments look, ironically, like a long winded 
repetition.(TL;DR)

  DaveF


> * Quick-fire responses. One person writes something, and three others
> reply immediately, without having fully read or understood the other
> responses, leading to a broad overlap between responses. If people were
> willing to wait a little longer, maybe they could do away with their
> response altogether because someone else has already said it.
>
> * Mistaking the list for a voting platform - while it is important to
> gauge what the community opinion is, if one person says something and
> three others have opposed, then it is not necessary to add a fourth,
> fifth, and sixth opposing voice. Three against is clear enough.
>
> * Wanting to comment on everything - there's a few people here who seem
> to see it as their responsibility to participate in every single thread.
> I've been there, done that. Nowadays I still read all the threads, and I
> ask myself: Is this an emergency where people will do something really
> bad if I don't join the discussion and try to steer them away? If it
> isn't, then I try to remain silent on that topic even if (!) I think
> that people are maybe overlooking a minor detail or the discussion isn't
> going exactly as I would like it.
>
> Before you post to this mailing list, remember that every single post
> uses some bandwidth, and bandwidth is limited. The more bandwidth is
> wasted on unnecessary "I 99% agree but there's this one little thing
> that I feel I need to write three pages about", the less bandwidth
> remains for the important stuff. And a high-bandwidth mailing list
> presents a higher hurdle for participation, so the more unnecessary
> words we make, the fewer people will be willing and able to participate.
>
> Before you post, ask yourself: Does what I have to say really have an
> impact? Is what I am about to write something that the 100s of readers
> of this list need to read?
>
> Set yourself reasonable limits; think about how you can help us all to
> save bandwidth. For example such limits could be "don't send more than
> one message per day on average", or "try to make it a habit to reply to
> things on the next day, rather than on the same day - unless your reply
> has already been made redundant by then".
>
> I think this mailing list is important and good work is being done here,
> and I want to keep it functioning. Hence this call for "moderation", in
> the sense of "observing reasonable limits". Your help is greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Bye
> Frederik
>