<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_extra"> Why would an OT post bother anybody?<br><br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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?<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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.<br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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. <br>
<br></div><div class="gmail_extra">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.".<br>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr">-- <br>James P. Kinney III<br><i><i><i><i><br></i></i></i></i>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.<br>
- Speech 11/23/1900 Mark Twain<br><i><i><i><i><br><a href="http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://heretothereideas.blogspot.com/</a><br></i></i></i></i></div>
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