[ale] Ale subscribers

[Jim Kinney]

 Why would an OT post bother anybody?

ALE is a public entity. EVERYTHING that is written is stored in the
archives and is available by Google search. ALE is a specific interest
group. Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts is the full name. Does is break anything
if Atlanta is expanded to mean all of metro-Atlanta and people beyond? No.
It shows the importance and relevance of what we exist for. Does it cause a
problem if the bulk of the topics are NOT Linux for a period of time?
That's harder to answer. How much reputation damage is done to the
outstanding legacy of ALE when a single person does a search and finds the
answer to their question includes the archive and the next 60 posts are
this thread?

Yes. Everyone knows how to hit delete. But those are not the people that we
as a group are trying to encourage to join and participate. It _is_ the new
Linux user that we want to see here. The grandparents with a new computer
so they can keep track of their grandkids and children, the office worker
whose boss got the message about system security and is switching to Linux
system and now they need more info on how to do their process, the student
who knows of Linux but is just now needing to dig deep for class, and even
us old gray beards who continue to ride the bleeding edge of change far
past the time when others have settled into the quiet complacency of
alternate computing environments that lack the freedoms we so often take
for granted after 20+ years.

So in order to keep ALE relevant, we discuss Linux and other open source,
GNU, apache, MIT, Creative Commons, etc. licensed environments. In general,
we discuss them from the viewpoint of why our stuff is better than the
alternatives and how they can be improved. We discuss the alternatives from
the perspective of how our stuff is better except where it's not and then
what is needed for our stuff to exceed the alternatives.

Occasionally, we have some bickering about silly stuff (vi vs. emacs) or
the minutia of GPL v2 vs GPL v3, or which distro is best for which use,
etc. But for the most part, ALE is and has always been a pretty welcoming
place for new Linux people get acquainted with others who may have some
answers not yet found on Google.

As the sysadmin and list owner for ALE, I have the responsibility to herd
the fish in the bowl when things don't meet up to the standards and history
of ALE. I was not elected. I am not paid. I volunteered because I have
received so much as a list member from ALE that when someone with my skills
was needed, I felt very compelled to pick up the pieces and keep ALE
running as I had become accustomed to.

I found ALE in 1997. Other than a hiatus when I was disgusted with both the
subtle and blatant politics during a national election cycle, I've read
every post. In the big picture view, this kerfuffle is significant only
because it pertains to the tone and content of ALE. It gives the archived
appearance of a shift from the legacy of ALE focused on Linux to becoming
less Linux and more generalized technology and a minority becoming verbally
explosive in opposition to the shift.

Is a shift in ALE to a more diverse technology view good or bad? As a list
member, I don't particularly like it. As the admin, I will only step in
when hostilities or abusive language shows up or when asked to intervene by
a number of list members with a history of posts that positively contribute
to extending ALE's legacy.

So the original question, "Why would an OT post bother anybody?" is
answered from my perspective with, "Because ALE is more than just posts on
a mailing list for some of us.".

-- 
-- 
James P. Kinney III
*
*Every time you stop a school, you will have to build a jail. What you gain
at one end you lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on his own tail.
It won't fatten the dog.
- Speech 11/23/1900 Mark Twain
*
http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/
*
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