[Maurice R. Kelly]

On Feb 18, Kate Parker Adams wrote:

> >I checked the Powderworks today, and 22 of 30 messages were NMOC
> >messages.  It depressed me to see so many messages that having to do with
> >a band that doesn't exist any more.
>
> Because many of us still like talking to each other.
>
> We like to chat about the Oils, and we like to chat about all the things
> they stand for that brought us all to this place.  We like to find out how
> life is in other places and bitch or gloat about the weather year-round.

The list is getting seriously off-topic these days. I realise that this is
effectively one of the "lull" periods - and until something major happens
with the remaining Oils, we're likely to continue with the lull.

But while there's a lull there's no need to fill the void with discussion
about the weather - and the tenuous snow-plough link isn't much
justification.

I realise that some people think the idea of this being a communityi.
Unfortunately some people seem to treat this like we simply have a tying
bond and therefore can talk about anything as long as the people talking
are Midnight Oil fans. There are a lot of people who subscribe to this
list for the genuine information and discussion on the band itself, and I
think it's time to respect those people by not filling their mailboxes
with off-topic trivia.

So can we try to keep things reasonably on-topic? As a refresher, the
following paragraph is from the blurb I was emailed when I joined the
list...

"What does this list talk about?
This list is a fairly open forum for discussion on all things Midnight
Oil. This is typically limited to new albums and live shows, but often we
go off on tangents such as the merits of Greenpeace, arguments over
clear-cutting forests, etc. These tangents are generally related (and
preferably restricted) to the political and social views expressed by the
band and their fans. Occasionally, topics on other Australian bands arise,
but for the most part we discourage public/on-list discussion for those
topics (although you are sure to get participants for private talks)."

Cheers,

-- 
Maurice R. Kelly
mkelly@deadheart.org.uk