On Tue, 23 Feb 2010, YES NOPE9 wrote:

> >
> > On Feb 23, 2010, at 3:14 PM, sergio masci wrote:
> >
> > I'm not going to ramble on about how I think you should behave.  
> > Instead I
> > suggest that you consider who it is that forms the bulk of the  
> > subscribers
> > to this list and what is it that this majority wants.
> 
> Majority rule is mob rule.  I hardly ever agree with the majority.   
> Majority
> rule is very seductive yet largely ineffective at producing yummy  
> results.

Gosh and there's me getting it wrong all these years thinking majority 
rule was called democracy and mob rule was the driving of a group of weak 
willed scared individuals by a bully.

Does this mean that it's not possible for a group of people with similar 
interests to gravitate together to form anything other than a mob?

What ymmy results are you hoping for from the PICLIST community? Lower 
taxes? An end to world famin? Cheap clean energy? I thought the PICLIST 
was just a place were people could meet, exchange ideas, ask for help 
solving problems. Have I got this wrong?

The point I was making (about majority) was (and still is), if people come 
together to form a community because of a core essance, changing that 
essance or railing against it will cause those same people to leave and 
seek that essance elsewhere.

It's all well and good a member who has been with the PICLIST for a while 
(and managed to stick his head above ground without getting it shot off) 
saying "I'm happy here, I don't mind if it changes, yes lets keep the 
stupid out, it would be for the better" but that's only possible because 
the PICLIST was the way it was when that member joined.

Intelligent discussion isn't "just" about high minded individuals 
pontificating about doing things the right way, their way. It's also about 
questioning the right way, about asking stupid questions that cause 
discussions leading to deeper understanding and insights into doing 
things better.

Having a collection of individuals with a vast breadth of expertise and 
not just "bakers" is good for a community. If they talk to each other they 
can help each other in ways a bunch of "bakers" couldn't.

Friendly Regards
Sergio Masci
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