"Tom Littleton" wrote in message
...
All,
It has been noted, by some who a regulars, and some who are less
frequent
posters, that ROFF has gotten nearly painful to read of late.

(snip well-reasoned plea for future group self-control)

over the winter, i have returned to my lifelong love of playing/singing
acoustic guitar. naturally, i sought a usenet group that expressed a shared
interest in the activity. the group, rmmga (rec. music. makers. guitar.
acoustic), is, in many ways, similar to roff. there is an obvious core
group of regulars (often referred to as the "inner circle") of about the
same size as here--i would estimate twenty to thirty would be a good guess.
they often discuss ot subjects, and they have their inside jokes, developed
from their clave-like regional meetings, which they call "gatherings".
their talent levels vary from rank beginners (even though those types may be
found among the "inner circle" of long time posters) to the highest level of
professional talent. they distribute, for a nominal cost, a collection of
songs/pieces about once a year, organized, collated, and produced by certain
of their membership. while the number of "regulars" is about the same as
roff, the number of "middleground" posters, random repeaters, and newbies,
is considerably higher than on our group.
within the relatively short term of my participation, i have watched
with considerable bemusement as the "inner circle", which is comprised of a
rainbow of personalities, met the challenge of a newbie who was determined
to bombard the group with thread hijackings centered around his own very
right-wing political attitudes. the core group, *almost to a man*, without
regard to the variation of their own politics, absolutely smothered the
renegade's efforts to create wholesale dissension. he retired from the fray
after about two or three weeks of fruitless blustering.
i must say that the quality of intellect and literacy displayed over
there doesn't match the best roff has to offer; few places do. but when it
comes to finding a place to go for some pleasant interaction concerning
one's particular choice of escapism, the guitar room is where i find myself,
more and more.
i fear that others, both regulars and those who just stop by for a drink
or two, now and then, will make the same choice, until roff as we knew it
will, as peter charles perceptively notes, becomes extinct.
my reading of tom littleton's post, and my understanding of my own
petulant urgings is not to make this place into a place populated by
stepford wives; no one wants a usenet version of "pleasantville". like most
of life, it's a matter of degree; and while no one can convince me that the
intensely personal vendettas that seem to have grown in number and intensity
over the last few months do not portend dark times, i know enough about some
of the people involved to hold out hope that we can mend the tears in the
fabric, at least for long enough to fish together again, and thereby heal
ourselves and this community.

yfitons
wayno