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Re: Meteorite Collecting

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!..........................................Casper
-----Original Message-----
From: Sharkkb8@aol.com 
To: kwilson@ix.netcom.com ;
meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com 
Date: Wednesday, June 17, 1998 1:47 AM
Subject: Re: Meteorite Collecting


>kwilson@ix.netcom.com writes:
>
><< Am I confused?  I thought this was a forum about the collection, and
> scientific value of meteorites and their study. >>
>
>If there is one thing that has occurred to me about this list in the year
or
>so
>I've been following it, it's that it is NOT a forum about any one aspect or
>approach to meteorites.  It seems that a week does not pass without a
>listee bemoaning the fact that some topic or some discussion/argument
>does not fit in neatly with his/her own personal idea of what the list
>"should" ideally be.  There is no possible way that a list can be a perfect
>forum for everyone.  The question becomes: should this list have extensive
>"rules" to determine what posts are acceptable?   Who decides?
>Whose rules?  It seems to me that there are two choices:
>1)  leave the list open to all thoughts - scientific, astronomical,
>collection-oriented,
>conservation, philosophical, historical, buy/sell, personal - EVERYTHING.
>2)  try to distill the list down to a specific, narrow forum wherein all
post
>by
>the same "rules".
>I don't think the second approach is possible, and I also don't think it
>is ultimately beneficial.  As long as everyone has the option to follow
what
>they like and ignore what they don't, why do we want to silence ANYONE?  Is
>one keystroke
>(ignore/delete) really too much trouble these days?  Life must be pretty
>cushy. Remember, every post which is "acceptable" to one member is probably
>useless/boring to someone else.  There are a number of members with
extensive
>scientific backgrounds, who are really "into" the chemical aspects of
>meteorites.
>I personally have the collective scientific prowess of the Spice Girls, so
>when I read the posts which get quite technical, my eyes tend to glaze
over,
>and I start
>thinking about who won the American League batting title in 1948.
>(Ted Williams....)   But I certainly defend to the DEATH anyone's right to
>discuss that stuff - it just doesn't happen to "push my buttons".  Should I
>announce that those topics should be "off-limits"?   Hardly.
>Certainly we should all try to be civil and respectful, and sometimes
>discussions
>DO get a little heated and a little vindictive, we're mostly all guilty
>occasionally,
>but is it really worth "throwing out the baby with the bathwater"?
>I vote for complete freedom - even with all the warts, it's a hell-of-a-lot
>better
>than censorship, even if that censorship may be well-intentioned.
>Gregory
>
>
>
>