I don't always agree with Chuck, but this time I have to. A thread that gets into a fairly detailed technical discussion, or various pros and cons of some bike or component versus alternatives will often be brought to an abrupt end in the middle of the discussion if one participant with the most knowledge reaches a rigidly enforced 3 post limit. It's like trying to write a resume of two paragraphs or less. It may be concise, but it will also be shallow. I agree this policy will discourage debates where the participants endlessly restate their positions, but it will also make it virtually impossible for someone with detailed knowledge of a topic to share his knowledge with the rest of us.
There are few things I hate more than beginning a discussion that cannot be followed to a logical conclusion, so I'll probably just refrain from a lot of threads altogether, even if I might have had some information someone is requesting. I've already seen too many instances where someone asked a question that I knew full well several dozen CR members could answer, but no one did. In addition to the usual reasons for not answering, we will now add, "Sorry Jack, I'm at my 3 post limit, so you're on your own." I guess one could wait 24 hours, then say, "In answer to your question yesterday..." But I won't, I'll just say to hell with it, he'll have to figure it out himself.
Dale's list, Dale's rules, but some work better than others. I'm afraid this one isn't going to work very well.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net> wrote:
On Sep 12, 2007, at 10:35 AM, Dale Brown wrote:
> So, starting with tomorrow, Sept 13, I am beginning a "week long
> suspension of membership" to be issued to violators of the 3
> message-per-day limit. If someone suddenly goes silent, you might
> guess that they "had to go to the principals office" and maybe got
> suspended. Funny to use that high school terminology, but honestly,
> sometimes I feel it applies to some of the Internet behavior I
> witness. Luckily it is not nearly bad here compared to other forums...
Dale,
In the past I've always responded on the list because I have always felt that in doing so, everyone could participate in the discussion and learn something that way. Discussions taken off the CR list don't further anyone's knowledge except of course the two participating in the off list discussion. And then there's the large group of list members who like to listen in to the "conversation" but are too shy to actually participate.
Pretty much on a daily basis I've responded to discussions on topics that I've been asked to answer that have obviously stretched beyond three posts in one day due to lively discussion. For the future I've decided it's probably best to take all the discussion on my part off list as it obviously conflicts with your three post a day limit as is your wish. I'll still be responding to CR list members but it will just be off list in the future and I'll still be posting ride announcements and Velo Rendezvous announcements of course.
Maybe the off list e-RICHIE-style forum between friends is the way to go in the future.
Regards, Chuck
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, CA USA
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)