[mythtv-users] OT: What is the Social Contract? (was Calendar stuff)

[Jay Ashworth]

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gavin Hurlbut" <gjhurlbu at gmail.com>

> >> Sorry to have offended you Kenni,
> >
> > I think you can ignore him and carry on as usual.
> 
> I expect better than that from long-time users. This mailing list is
> not a general Linux mailing list, it's for MythTV-related use.

Well, I guess some people look at it that way, and some people look at it 
in the -- equally reasonable -- way that it's a *community of people* formed
around MythTV and its use.  Even intentional communities such as this are
composed of *people*.  30 years or more of mailing lists and other sorts of
computer-mediated communication have proven that not only *can't* you keep 
everyone 100% on-topic at all times...

you don't want to.

Communities where the participants engage in such off-topic discussions (like
the Friday pizza bash with your development department?): they work better.

> And sending this right after Robert reinforced what Kenni said... I
> guess you don't care that those who run the server and the project
> don't want their resources used in this way? Sheesh. And that
> reminds me, need to start moving services to the rebuilt server...

Both Kenni's and Robert's responses -- in my opinion as someone who's spent
at least 2 hours a day running list mail for nearly 30 years -- were a bit 
peremptory, and displayed the assumption that that category of off-topic 
traffic is *never* acceptable on *any* mailing list...

and that position is simply unsupported by the facts.

It may be the position of *this* list and it's owners, and that's perfectly
fine.  But the knowledge that there *are* lists on which it's perfectly 
acceptable really removes the justification for the tone of voice I saw in 
the replies in question.  To me, they read like "how could you not already
realize this"... and clearly, I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Cheers,
- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       jra at baylink.com
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