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[David Sanders]

Alan - I'm intrigued as to what you would consider appropriate for the
"off-topic" list?

I'm certainly as guilty, if not more,  than most list users for being
occasionally inflammatory on subjects I feel passionate and
well-informed about, but I don't really know what it is you find so
unreasonable about the discussion. We discuss computers - which really
do have an impact on ethics, politics and other subjects - as was well
evidenced by the start of the conversation regarding Israel - and so I
feel we should be free to express our wider opinions on the world as
it relates to technology. My views on history, politics and the rest
are directly relevant to the reasons why I value the meritocratic
system favoured by FOSS developers (and I am also a developer, just to
keep it in perspective), so it seems silly to pigeon-hole an off-topic
list that is, in a wide sense, related to  technology of the free kind
and say that, just because it displeases you to read long-winded and
rage-filled discussions, you'd prefer it to not exist. Frankly that
sounds pretty autocratic.

What's your reasoning?

David