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A post to my boondocking group:
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In a word, Jerry -- BRAVO!
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You've captured my sentiments perfectly . . . but you've worded it so much better than I might have. Energy and Passion -- that's a keeper. When folks are able to cuss and discuss without making it personal or taking it personal or attacking the person whose beliefs are different, that's REAL and productive for all parties involved. We all have infinitely more in common than we'll ever have in difference. And we can all take turns: student one day . . . teacher the next.
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I understand a group having a "focus" or general theme -- it's part of what pulls like-minded souls together. BUT -- beyond that -- real conversations around a campfire would be about a lot more than JUST boondocking. So let the legalists take their sterile conformity to the cold, windy and barren slopes from whence it came -- there is no joy there -- that they may gorge themselves with their lack of flexibility and suffer alone.
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sail4free
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Jerry posted: "I hear a lot of talk about standing up for America or Canada, but what about standing up for where we are: I mean this list.
If information on boodocking became widely known to everyone; if it was easy to access; if there were 50 lists just like this on the topic; if all the problems of the lifestyle were easily resolved, the energy of this list would go way down. It would be a shell of what it is now.
If the energy of this list ever dies and boredom sets in because the people and the information about boondocking is so easy to access, we'll all be longing for the days when a few people carried-on with passion about something arguably off-topic.
The energy and the passion are what's important because that's the glue that makes the sub-culture powerful. It comes out of caring about something.
Moderating is about managing the energy of a list.
As long as people care, and no one's verbally abusing anyone, and no one's trying to dominate the list with their agenda, this list will continue to operate at a high level of interest. It's an excellent list. Keeping it at that level requires a special kind of moderation.
There's a reason some lists start and die and others start and thrive with energy and passion. It might be worth figuring out what's behind the difference and applying it to this discussion on a particular thread that some think is off-topic.
Jerry
