Hi Lee:
> Educational activities about Oly are the stated purpose of this list,
> and should remain so, IMHO. If the consensus wants to change that,
> fine, but I'm not convinced it does.
I'll offer a newcomers perspective, although I've been active in cyberspace an
enforcer (SysOp) of the no commercial posting rules on America Online.
I'm guilty of contributing my share of noise here. But to a portion of the
folks on the list, issues regarding the OM market are very interesting! (Note
the !). We all want to know if the deal we got was a good one or the
emotions or the moment led us to pay too much. We also love to find out what
OM equipment is going for in other parts of the world. So, we are dealing
with monetary rather than strictly educational content in those postings.
That ought to continue.
The occasional postings of for sale items is also rather interesting and fun.
You must hold the alltime record for quick response since I got one out from
under my nose in record time. But that is the fun of it. Horse trading on
the List is just an extension of shopping, which most of us are clearly into.
It contributes to a sense of community when someone says "I'm offering it to
you loyalists, first." And as well it should be as a reward (if the price is
right) to those who frequent this List on a regular basis. There is little
tangible reward to those who freely offer their knowledge in modern
capitalistic society.
IMHO, a dealer ought to simply lerk and respond via private mail unless we
open the door to them posting their price (ex. the Wall Street camera quote).
On the other hand, most of us are consumers and users and the informative
input from the commercial sector, be it camera repair professionals or
dealers, is a most welcome perspective.
List or message boards that have too strict rules can get rather stuffy.
Freedom of speech coupled with community are what make a List or board a place
people want to return to and be a part of. Discussions like this can prove to
be self-regulatory without the need for imposing discipline. I'm sure Paul
knows that if his behavior ticks me off I might not order from him in the
future. Meanwhile he can count about one hit day as coming from my Netscape
browser.
Gary Reese
Las Vegas, NV
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|