>Paul J. Lucas wrote:
>> 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.
>I wish you would stop calling stuff off topic because its you who are
>going to discourage people from participating. You seem to have gotten
>the wrong idea. This newsgroup is not just about Rainbow Gatherings.
>Other things we Rainbows are interested in are not off topic.
Then this newsgroup was misnamed. It should have probably
been:
alt.gathering.rainbow.misc
leaving:
alt.gathering.rainbow
to discuss items pertaining to gatherings themselves.
>When you and BJ say there are other newsgroups we can use for these
>other issues, you are simply wrong.
No we simply are not.
>For example, I am researching electro accupuncture and I want to tell people
>in the Rainbow about it.
You get into trouble with the "...and..." part.
>I could simply DISCUSS it it any number of health newsgroups, (in fact I
>have), but there is no other news group where I can tell rainbows about
>it.
Why *should* you take it upon yourself to foist what *you* find
intersting upon others? By posting off-topic items here, you
are not respecting people's choices.
If rainbow folk are interested in electro accupuncture, then
they are free to *choose* to read the *other* newsgroup where
it is discussed. If they *choose* not to read the other
newsgroup, then that's a clear indication that tey are *not*
interested in the subject, so you posting it here is of no good
use.
Analogy: I *choose* not to watch the 6 o'clock news. Suppose
you come along and decide that you have some compelling urge to
tell rainbows about the top stories on the 6 o'clock news.
(Exactly *why* you have that urge, or the urge to tell about
electro accupuncture to rainbows, isn't clear.) So you post
synopses of the top stories. Guess what? It's (a) a waste of
time, (b) annoying, and (c) disrespectful of my choice. If I
wanted to hear about the news, I would simply watch it
*myself*. I don't need you to spoon-feed me.
>It has nothing to do with scouting for sites or any particular rainbow
>gatherings, but it is something I personally think they ought to know about
>and which many of them will find fascinating.
See above.
>I'm starting to feel like I'm not welcome here and I'm very carefull to
>never go where I'm not welcome.
I'm not responsible for you drawing an incorrect conclusion.
The correct conclusion is the off-topic *posts* are not welcome
in any newsgroup. That says nothing about the *people*.
>I'm concerned that there may be other people with other intrests who won't
>post because they have read your misinformation.
I freely admit that I am new to this newsgroup. However, my
information is dead accurate for Usenet in general.
>One of the best things about this newsgroup is that it is one of the few which
>is not limited to one topic. That means you can really get to know PEOPLE and
>not just one topic or another.
That's what private e-mail is for.
>I'm interested in anything that is truly revelutionary, and so are most of the
>people here. That's how we got interested in Rainbow Gatherings. There is no
>reason why we can't share our other experiences with each other. In fact that
>is a fundemental part of the rainbow experience.
But that model simply doesn't mesh with Usenet. Sorry.
- Paul