>>>>> I am a great fan of "everything to its place." I have little to
>>>>> no interest in any of the above topics.
(Dragonfly) writes:
>>>well here's the heart of the matter! who's to decide that a certain
>>>topic is out of place at a gathering?
Paul wrote:
>> It's usually fairly obvious.
>> - Star Trek: obviously not
>> - Housing in Palo Alto: obviously not
>> - American Airlines: obviously not
dragonfly:
but you missed the main point....this is a "gathering", granted
it's a cybergathering but still a place to gather round the
campfire and talk........about whatever you and others want
to talk about.......and in order to be rainbow it is
"free and open to all"
the trouble you are having grasping this is just because it is
a totally different way to think when you have led a structured
life.........
now a fire in the middle of the trail is out of place at a
gathering and something can be done to stop that.
however, an open and free discussion between folks is not
subject to control or censoring if it's rainbow
unless that discussion is in someway harmful then steps
can be taken to remedy the situation.
granted posting
an add for an apt or selling things i don't consider
appropriate at all but the only way to prevent those
topics from appearing in the newsgroup, would be if it
was a *moderated* newsgroup.
if it were moderated then it really wouldn't be free and open
now would? thereby loosing the very quality that makes it a
rainbow news group.
>>>dragnonfly:
>>>.....if folks don't like it they just don't read or respond to it and
>>>it will eventually fade away...
>>paul:
>> And, in the meantime, the signal-to-noise ratio is so bad that
>> it drives some listeners out because they simply don't have time
>> to wade through the off-topic stuff to find the on-topic stuff.
dragonfly:
yes, you are correct in that statement and it drove me off the
subscription list for sure. now i just lurk and read what
catches my interest because i don't have the time to wads through
the rest that comes in via email.
your concern has actually been brought up by others and attempts
to find solutions were ineffective for the reasons i mentioned
above. no you are not alone in how you feel but folks agreed
that moderation was not desired. so many participants now take
what they want and leave the rest. if a poster is very much off
topic and gets no action they eventually wander off. if the poster
gets action, it then becomes a legitimate topic for those interested.
others don't have to read or participate.
>>>there are not always "gatherings" on the land to be commenting on at any
>>>given time
paul:
>> So be it. So let there be no posts on anything for a week or
>> two, or four, or however long it is. What's wrong with that?
dragonfly:
i really don't see this as an issue of right or wrong but one of
personal choices.
however, if folks choose to talk as if they were in front of that
campfire what's wrong with that?
>>>family wanting to hang out with family and talking about whatever is near and
>>>dear to them at any given moment...REGS, cookies, flying saucers, vehicle
>>>registration, indiscriminate logging......
paul:
>> So people simpy talk to hear themselves talk?
dragonfly:
;)well more than one of us might be guilty of that but i believe
for the most part they like to hear others talk also......some
actually like to come into a newsgroup and play games like
intentionally starting flame wars to see if they can disrupt a
newsgroup. you'd have to actually hear from all concerned to
find out, if the were only posting to hear themselves!
however, IMHO rainbows being who they are and after having experienced
the love we share during a gathering are hooked!!! sometimes the
best fix we can get is from agr, until we meet on the land again.
til that time a cybergathering is our way of keeping in touch and
for many feeling that lovnlight:)
>>>ignore all rumors of organization because there isn't any
paul:
>> I never stated anything about that in any of my posts so I don't
>> know what you're responding to.
dragonfly:
whoops sorry.....didn't mean to imply you had.....it's something that
got picked up along the way........as folks(gov't) insist on calling
us an organization and other folks can't understand how we could be
so unorganized. it's because there really is *no* organization at
all. as evidenced even here on agr. things happen in rainbow time,
at rainbow speed, in a rainbow way.....that way is managed somehow
even with an amazing lack of organization.
paul:
>> I'm going based on the original respondents' premise that all
>> posts somehow have a topic of love running through them [sic].
>> Discussion of of housing in Palo Alto, American Airlines, the
>> paranormal, et al, have nothing to do with that.
dragonfly:
"the original respondents' premise?" i am a respondent and i think
i'm original;]........but i didn't say that.
aha and you touched on one of the other mysteries that are unfolding
before you.......anarchy......the statement you refer to came from
*one* brother's description and although many of us would agree with
that description, it's not the only one. nor does he speak for all
of us. all of us just didn't respond at once. some just hang around
and lurk til they see something they like or something they disagree
with.....then they might jump in and correct me at any given moment;)
right folks?
>>>awhile to catch on. if you don't care for a certain thread or feel
it's off
>>>topic(which many of us have at times) then you just stop reading it.)
paul:
>> So you are apparantly willing to sacrifice having people here
>> (who leave because they simply don't have the time to wade
>> through all the off-topic posts) all for the sake of some
>> amorphous "freedom." Your're sacrificing strength in numbers
>> for a Tower of Babble. Not a wise trade, IMHO.
dragonfly:
am i willing to sacrifice people......hmmmmmmmmm since i'm one of
those people that was sacrificed, it's hard to answer. i don't
think it's a matter of an individual sacrificing anything. it is
an anarchy and whether or not an anarchy can work will only be
known if it's is free to try.
maybe it won't work.....maybe the babble will finely drive everyone
away. it hasn't so far. if it did knowing these resourceful folks,
something else would develop
in it's place. i think rob explained that in one of his posts,
about originally thinking there would be off shoots.
>>>i'm using the 'nospam' thing, i like to put my real address after my name
>>>without <> that would flag it for a robot to pick up.
paul:
>> Really smart robots can "fix" e-mail addresses to remove the
>> "nospam" from "nospam.my-real-address.com" and, for a company
>> that sells e-mail addresses, it's financially viable for them to
>> devote the extra compute time required to do it.
dragonfly:
either way, it did reduce alot of the junk, so it must have helped
some, even though this one is going out with my real address.
>>>i do that just so folks can email a private response.......some are
>>>very shy about posting to a newsgroup
paul:
>> Others' shyness isn't my problem.
dragonfly:
well i like to kinda try and help anyone i can along the way even
if it's to make it easier for them to contact me, "especially" the
ones that are shy. others, have done the same for me when i am
feeling shy.......(ok--folks stop the snickering--i can be shy.)
>>>and manyyyyyyy would not be able to locate your address through a search
>>>engine......my favorite search engine only gave me your nospam address
paul:
>> I suggest you pick another favorite. Using Alta-Vista, I simply
>> entered: "Paul J. Lucas"
>> (with the quotes) into the simple-search field. It returned a
>> link to my home page as the very first result. From my home
>> page, you can send me private e-mail.
>>
>> Child's play.
dragonfly:
depending on what that child's particular interests or abilities are:(
not all children are able to play that game as easily as others. if
i get time i'll check it out.
>>>btw: did i see you say you were in california?
paul:
>> I have no way of knowing what you saw;
dragonfly:
well of course not but do you know what you posted?
paul:
>>yes, I did say I am in California.
dragonfly:
ok then;) now that we got beyond that!
>>>are you going to the council?
paul:
>> Since I'm new to all this,
dragonfly:
then that would be one place to start, since circles, council
and consensus is very much at the heart of it all!
paul:
>> I don't feel qualified to go.
dragonfly:
oh but you are veryyyy qualified and i'll bet you've got the
bellybutton to prove that you are indeed a rainbow:) in fact
you are just as qualified as anyone eles is.
your badge(bellybutton) garauntees you an equal place and
voice in the circle.........a participant in this ever
evolving tapestry of human beings, very diverse sharing
a common vision and goal.
if you are feeling shy i still encourage you
to go because there are folks besides me who feel that:
Others' shyness is their problem and will be happy to
welcome you home! many folks can be quite helpful.
given the opportunity, they would love to share info with
you and help you feel less shy and feel more a part of what
is going on. this is not "a gathering" as you hear us talk
about because the focus is to discuss the possibility of
a gathering next year. everyone is equal. what better way
to meet folks and observe other child's play in action.
peace, love and light
Dragonfly
btw: are we having phun yet?
if not maybe a little morphun will help:D
go ahead...go on out to council it's child's play