RE: disappearance of regular contributors

["Robert Gaustad" <rgaustad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Every single discussion list on the Internet will often contain messages
that a number of people on the list are not interested in reading.
People will try to sell products, services, their own opinions, and some
will simply try to start a debate.  So what?  It's exceedingly easy to
either delete a message, or just stop reading one you have no interest
in.

If somebody is trying to sell me on their equipment or service site, I'm
happy to hear what they have to say.  If somebody has a strong opinion
about something, I'm happy to read the thread until it becomes
boring...or not.  What I don't like is to hear from a bunch of people
who decry the quality of messages on their list, simply because they
disagree with the content.  That's the Internet, folks.

People will say that harp-l is going downhill, but that's not true.
It's an incredibly informative resource with people who are passionate
about their instrument of choice.  And as Barry said, it's given us an
opportunity to meet many, many more harp players than we would have
simply jamming in our local clubs.  

All I can say is if you don't want to read a message, delete it, or mark
it as read and move on.  Please don't waste your time and ours
complaining about the content of posts.  It's counter productive.  Yes,
there are often posts that are not helpful to certain individuals, but
unless somebody is directly calling somebody out on the list, I have no
problem with ANY post I have ever read.

So let's have fun, let people post whatever they want as long as it's in
reasonably good taste, and as long as it's even remotely harp related.
This is the Internet and we get posts from all over the world.  It's
impossible to find 100% of contributors who will keep to YOUR chosen
area of interest.  So, can't we all just get along? :-)

Robert Gaustad
Harp Player
San Rafael, CA

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:owner-harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Barry B. Bean
> Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 12:20 PM
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: disappearance of regular contributors
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, 03 Jan 2003 08:35:29 -0800, Roger A Gonzales wrote:
> 
> >> Harp-l has become more of a format for sarcastic banter, silly one
> >> liners, 
> >> and self promotion within the community than information exchange.
> >> 
> >
> >This has been pretty much the case for a long time.  Even 
> before the Harp-l crash.    
> >As far as info...important info that is useful and helpful for 
> >all....getting harder and harder to find on Harp-l....good thing my 
> >delete button works so well.
> 
> Bah humbug. The banter and one liners are part of the price 
> you pay to have a sense of community. Harp-l isn't supposed 
> to simply be an online 
> encyclopedia.
> 
> Harp-l is fortunate enough to have a great many of the 
> world's top players, instrument designers, repairmen, 
> authors, educators, and manufacturers either on 
> list or one step removed. I'm not aware of any other forum, 
> online or off that provides the kind of access we have to the 
> best in the field. 
> 
> Prior to harp-l, most of us were fortunate if we knew a dozen 
> other harp players that we ran into at gigs or the annual 
> SPAH convention. If we were 
> exceptionally fortunate, we might get 2 or three chances a 
> year to pick the brains of a top player, repairman, or engineer. 
> 
> I have no problem picking up useful information on Harp-l. My 
> own technique, understanding, abilities, and range of 
> exposure has been dramatically 
> improved by this resource. If the price of the resource is to 
> occasionally ignore a thread or add a person or two to the 
> kill file, that's a small price to pay. 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Barry B. Bean
> Bean & Bean Cotton Company
> Peach Orchard, MO
> www.beancotton.com
> www.beanformissouri.org
> 
> 
> --
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>