[MGP-Forum Announce] Apology from the web worker: Unsubscribing, Announcements, Discussion, and Technology

[Benjamin Melançon]

First, I want to thank everyone who is still on the MGP-Forum 
Announcement list even though it has become a full-blown discussion 
list.  And I further, personally, apologize to those who are still on 
because of difficulty unsubscribing.

Second, I want solicit people's opinions on how this /should/ have 
worked, and how to rescue the two goals: the ability to make occasional 
announcements to your fellow participants, and the ability to engage in 
excellent discussion with those willing to put in the time.

A.)  Would you like to be added to the discussion list, to work like 
this has?

B.)  Should the the announcement list remain open to all participants, 
but policed when discussion starts?  Should Bill Densmore moderate it? 
In either case, *what should be the guidelines for announcements*?

C.)  Any other thoughts or venting on this experience you want to unload 
on me (including unsubscribe requests and what conditions would have to 
be met to add you back to an announcement list).  (I very much want to 
create - or pay others to create - software that would allow people to 
easily set their own threshold of involvement and have 'importance' 
decisions made democratically, but the technological options right now 
are pretty much what we have-- for horizontal communication, sadly, 
http://mgp-forum.org/ is cutting edge.)

PLEASE respond *directly to me* at b at pwgd.org (cc Bill Densmore at 
mediagiraffe at journ.umass.edu or even reply to discuss at mgp-forum.org if 
you choose) but please spare the long-suffering folks on the 
announcement ("post at ...") list.

Thank you greatly for your participation and/or patience,
sincerely yours,

benjamin melançon
member, Agaric Design Collective
http://AgaricDesign.com - "Open Source Web Development"
My cell: 1-508-737-0582

P.S.  Third, I wanted to join the excellent discussion, but it seems 
counterproductive to my main goal here.  In two sentences:  Why would 
normal people (not us junkies) want to get daily news, in any form, that 
either isn't relevant to their lives and struggles or presents all 
events as beyond their control?  Objective news would recognize the 
problems we face and acknowledge that only people working together will 
solve many of them, and treat readers as potential active participants 
in shaping reality.  Responses to discuss at mgp-forum.org please!