Kelly,

Normally I gain a lot from your postings.  This time I disagree.

>I have one absolute rule with my employees and business associates: Sex,
>Politics and Religion are anathema in the work-place. Period. No
>Discussion.

That would be fine in a corporate environment.  However, many (most?) of
the folks on the list are hobbyists (that is, this isn't company time) or
self-employed (again, not company time).

Personally, I enjoy the political and religious discussions on this list (I
better, seein's how I'm one of the big offenders).

>What you do on your own time is your business but the minute it
>impinges on a business/technical tool--such as a list nominally aimed at
>technical issues--it severely impacts the usefulness of the tool, and the
>willingness of knowledgeable people to participate.

BUT THIS IS MY OWN TIME!  Yes, it may impact the usefulness of the tool.
We have a very diverse group here, and to manage that diversity we have
made [OT] the standard to communicate off-topic threads.

I do not find my willingness to respond affected for ill whatsoever by the
off-topic posts.  You see, Eudora (both Pro and freebie versions) have
Filters.  I can set them to take care of that for me.  If I don't want, I
never see them - I could, in fact, route them straight into the Trash.

I don't though - they are often read BEFORE the technical notes.

The OT markings are there specifically to help move things around in your
e-mail program automatically.  Set it up to filter things for you based on
the [OT] marking.

If you don't like it, use the Delete key.

Just my 2 cents.

Andy

==================================================================
Andy Kunz               Life is what we do to prepare for Eternity
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andy@rc-hydros.com      http://www.rc-hydros.com     - Race Boats
andy@montanadesign.com  http://www.montanadesign.com - Electronics
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