observation of this group

["Ernest" <ernestls@home.com>]

I use my ISP's news server to download the mail from this group, and I
filter it, and I have my reader set to delete messages that I've read, etc..

Well, today, I was trying to find some older messages so I went to deja.com,
and searched for the postings for this group. Once I found them, I couldn't
believe how much time we waste discussing the pros and cons of piracy,
calling each other names, and all of the ugliness that goes with that.

For those of you who read your news the way I do, I suggest that you go to
deja news and take a good look at what this group has become. I'm ashamed of
it. I've been part of it, just like many of you but I've also lost
perspective -until today. Other groups have off topic discussions but
they're usually about something ordinary, like the baseball scores, or the
droughts down south. It's like their just talking about everyday life. This
group, on the other hand, has become an ugly place that must seem weird to
people who come here to get a little friendly help. It seems weird to me now
too.

Isn't this group supposed to be about helping people? It isn't that way any
more. The only postings that get much attention these days are the ugly
ones, and most of the legitimate questions only get a few token responses.
Try carving out the extraneous bash and trash postings, and look at what's
left. There really aren't many "on topic" questions remaining.

Do any of you really care what anyone else believes about piracy? Of course
not. I don't!  I could not care less about what any of you believe about
copyright laws, or piracy, or whatever the angry topic of the day is today.
It's like we're all just talking to hear ourselves speak. It's gray noise,
and it's ugly.

So, just for the sake of simple courtesy towards everyone else in this
group, I humbly suggest that everyone stop for a minute, and ask yourselves
if this is what you want the group to be like. I can answer a "NO" for me.
Most of you probably feel the same way. Who likes to listen to the mind
numbing sound of lips flapping in the wind? I don't.

This piracy topic is tired, boring, and lame. It's almost as bad as
listening to politicians spew catch phrases, and it makes about as much
difference.

There are about ten or so people who consistently voice their opinions about
the "law," and if they (myself included) just... stop, then things around
here will change. Just let it go, people. Just let it go. I will. In fact,
I'll even turn on my filter to delete any postings that have the word
piracy, or copyright, or law in them. I guess that may be a bit extreme but
that's about the only option left, unless we can all mellow out a little.

Look at it this way, there is no better snub than bumping someone's post to
the garbage bin before you read it. Ha, I guess that would be one way to
really stop the whole boring discussion. What a deluxe idea.

Please, don't respond to this post.  Let this one go to. My point in writing
this was not to stir things up but calm things down.

The filter is your friend.

Ernest