[Am-info] Action needed, please respond. Gene Gaines

[madodel@ptdprolog.net]

In <1074295861.20041014045823@gainesgroup.com>, on 10/14/04 at 04:58 AM,
   Gene Gaines <gene.gaines@gainesgroup.com> said:

>,

>Fred Miller insists on dominating this list, often with
>references to a news item a week or more old.

>Essentially, this list has become Fred Miller's clipping
>service.  Most of the contributors to the list have
>given up and gone silent or unsubscribed.

>Personally, for the past few months there is never
>anything posted that I have not seen elsewhere or is off
>topic.

>Here are the posting statistics for last month:

>Top 10 posters to the list:
>     27 fmiller@lightlink.com
>      3 eandrews@star.net
>      2 talldad@kepl.com.au
>      1 mikestp@shaw.ca
>      1 madodel@ptdprolog.net
>      1 gene.gaines@gainesgroup.com

>So.  Fred posted 77 percent of the items, and
>there were only 6 people who posted to the list.
>Only 6.  That is pitiful.
>Of those, 4 were further comments to a Fred post.
>The remaining 2 were a (delightful) off-topic
>posting on the U.S. presidential campaign and a
>comment on that post.

>I have another problem.  Several people on this list
>have sent me, privately, what I consider to be dishonest,
>shameful, vitriolic hate mail on off-topic issues.  As
>a result, personally I have a developed an strong aversion
>to communicating with these individuals.

Are these in regard to Fred's posts?  Or something political or none of
the above?  People take all this crap way too seriously.

>I rush to say that all the private communications with
>people on this list have been wonderful.  Positive,
>polite, thoughtful.  Save those couple of nasties.

>I spend time each day weeding out maybe a dozen SPAM emails
>so that they do not reach the list.

>What to do?  I will list some choices below.  Please send
>me a response either publicly to the list or privately to me as to what
>action you think I should take.  It is your list; I am just a caretaker. 
>I will count the results and transmit a summary to the list.

>Choices:

>1. Kill the list.

>2. Restrict all members to no more than 4 emails per month
>   to attempt to restore some balance.

I think 4 emails isn't enough.  Maybe 10.  I'd post more if there really
were more to say, but in the current atmosphere m$ has a completely free
hand to do as they please so what's the point?  After the election perhaps
we will return to the rule of law and we know gates and his mob will do
something egregious enough to force yet another investigation/trial. 

>   
>3. Give the list members a test to see if anyone is listening
>   or cares.  Most of the people on the list complain about
>   Microsoft.  Are we willing to take even a small action to
>   remedy what we are bitching about?

>   Microsoft has failed to provide the documentation of its
>   communications protocols that was ordered as part of the DoJ
>   Antitrust settlement against Microsoft.  Now they are
>   delaying because they say they plan to provide this infor-
>   mation in a new document format that is proprietary to
>   Microsoft.

>   This is nonsense.  If I get the names, phone numbers and
>   email addresses of the several key US DOJ officials and the
>   attorney-generals of each of the states that was a party to
>   bringing the antitrust suit again Microsoft, will you write
>   an email (1) demanding copies of the protocol, and (2)
>   demanding that there be no further delay, and (3) demanding
>   that to information be provided in an existing, commonly-
>   available document format?  And send copies to this list.

>   Look, if the people on this list don't care enough to take
>   any action, then there is no purpose served for the list.

This is like complaining to the EPA about the currnt lack of enforcement
of environmental laws.  What's the point?  It's their policy to ignore the
laws.  

My thoughts are limit the postings if you must, but wait on killing the
list until after the election.  Or kill the list now, or make it so no one
can post to it and see about resurrecting it in the future if there is a
reason to do so.

Mark




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  "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself.   That in it's essence, is Fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any controlling private power." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Message proposing the Monopoly Investigation, 1938