Date: Sun, 30 Jun 96 14:09:27 -0600
   From: Travis Butler <tbutler@tfs.net>

I don't have time to respond in detail; let me make/repeat the
following observations that you don't (adequately) address:

A noticable number of participants on the list, including some
authors, have had to drop out because of the volume.  The needs of
these people are not being adequately addressed by this list.

Depending on self-restraint is out of the question; like every medium
to large sized forum I'm been seen (that wasn't seriously focused with
enforcement), this list has a stable of people who do not pratice
self-restraint in posting (and/or have a lot more free time available
in their lives than, for example, myself---the length of your message
tells me you are in that category).

Addressing the first item above while allowing for the second means
either heavy handed moderation or a list split.

You are absolutely right that things will be lost in such changes, but
this list is already losing: losing author and critics, to be
specific, and obviously some people are posting less C&C because the
time they'd spend doing that time is getting soaked up wading through spam.

Obviously a C&C list will have off topic or only tangently relevent
posts, as well as occasional relevent bursts; however, there's a large
volume of messages that are purely social in nature (e.g. the Kun-chan
stuff), or nearly so (e.g. poker/UF style stuff); splitting this off
into a social list seems to me to be the best solution to the problem.

What you propose will result in continued shedding of authors and
serious C&C participants, and inevitably another more focused list
will be created someday; I'd rather not see that happen.

					- Harold