RE: Mandatory controls for optional lists

[Dave Crocker <dcrocker at brandenburg.com>]

Mark,

At 07:14 AM 10/13/98 +0100, mark.paton wrote:
>Although a great idea, this kind of enforces the Jeff Williams and Bob 
>Allisats of this world paranoia about the "Finks" trying to subverse our 

In effect, that gives such people control over the rest of us, since it
means we take no action to reduce the noise they create, for fear of their
bad feelings.  An alternative approach, of course, is to focus on
productive work and what it takes to achieve it.  

Productive work requires focus.  In many engineering realms, including that
of global standards, it also requires debate and diversity.  It is
important to value the benefit of the debate, as well as the need for
focus.  We must not confuse diversity of opinion with injection of noise.
Contrariwise, we must not pretend that noise is really legitimate
expression of diverse opinion.

I hope you get my point.  The need for filters is to keep out the noise.
If those generating the noise choose to interpret the reasons for the
filters incorrectly, that is their problem, not ours.

Similarly, excessive use of filters is our problem and not theirs.  Life is
balance (tra la...)

>I think we are all starting to get a little paraniod about this and need to 
>develop a thicker skin, I hope that we had left the sticks and stones 

Thicker skins help to some extent.  If everyone had a sufficiently thick
skin, then PERHAPS it would be enough, but I doubt it.  The reason is that
the other problem is a tendency to respond to the noise makers, thereby
consuming valuable energy, bandwidth and time.  This effectively becomes a
deprivation of service attack from the noise makers.  

Unfortunately, it is quite effective, even if people have thick skins.
Notice, for example, how much time and bandwidth the current discussion is
taking.  Multiply it, since the problem is increasingly present on EVERY
open discussion list.

d/

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