In a message dated 02/15/2000 4:41:30 PM Eastern Standard Time,
msvphoto@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> Perhaps you can enlighten me, and others who may be confused, as to what
> is "on-topic" and what is not. I'll assume for starters that we can all
> agree SUVs and politics are _not_ "on topic" ;-) Scanners? Printers?
> Film? Where do you/we draw the line? Just wondering...
Let me throw in my $0.02:
I think that we can all agree that the topic of this list is Olympus cameras.
Primarily the discussions concern the OM system, but anything photographic
manufactured by Oly is fair game (I don't think we want to start talking
about endoscopes or other medical equipment).
Having said that, the current state of the OM system (a topic in and of
itself) lends me to feel that there are some peripheral topics that are still
on topic. Unlike the Nikon and Canon lists, where they are always talking
about the latest whizz-bang 10fps wonderbrick they can order new from B&H,
much of our purchases are done used. Part of being an OM user is learning to
scour the used market. Taking this into consideration, I think it has been
pretty much agreed here that for sale posts are not only acceptable, but even
encouraged. I've made a number of purchases from list members, and consider
it to be a low risk way of buying used. Personally I don't think it's going
too far out of line to post 3rd party sales of unusual objects. If my local
camera shop had a 24 shift or a 180/2 sitting on the shelf (and I couldn't
afford it myself, of course), I think most list members would appreciate me
mentioning it here. I also think the 2gabe thread was very much on topic for
this list, and hopefully saved one (or more) of us from a frustrating
non-purchase. If there are sellers out there to be avoided, I think we should
speak up and let each other know.
Another area that gets a lot of traffic here is digital technologies. We all
know Olympus is in the digital game in a big way, so certainly anything Oly
related is on topic. As for some of the other digital topics (color palettes,
etc.), My opinion is that they are off topic.
SUVs: Off topic
Politics: Off topic
Computer operating systems: Off topic
Music: Off topic
Stereo systems: Off topic
I should also mention that just because something is off topic, doesn't mean
you shouldn't send it to the list. Just make sure the subject line *clearly*
indicates that it is OT. There is an enormous collection of knowledge on this
list covering an equally enormous range of subjects. It's something we all
may want to tap into sometime.
Paul stepping-off-his-soapbox Schings
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