Alessandro Pardi wrote:
> I fully agree. Tony, can you do or say anything about that? I'm really
> starting to consider quitting, and that would be a pity, but I don't
> think I could stand another 100 messages thread like the recent 8 vs. 16
> bit...
I've had a steady stream of complaints about the list, and they're becoming
more numerous as participants have become increasingly exasperated with the
deteriorating signal-to-noise ratio. Membership has declined by one-third
in the last year; about 500 people have run away screaming. With this
diminution of the gene pool, things have become ever more incestuous.
Pleas for self-restraint and asking for personal wrangles to be taken
off-list just haven't worked.
I suspect the the original motivation for the list, the exploration of what
was new territory 5yrs ago, is now obsolete. Film scanning is now
sufficiently familiar, current hardware and software is now competent
enough to have run out of big questions. All that's left is nit-picking
angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin stuff, interspersed by axe-grinding.
This is undoubtedly my lazy-arsed fault, or at least my responsibility. I
no longer provide the stimulus of review material since the effort was
wrecking my precarious freelance livelihood. I seldom contribute, since I'm
bored with answering questions that have come up 20 times before and
usually progress to a spiral of nit-picking vituperation. I haven't even
shot any film for 6months. Scanning old film is something I am going to be
doing for some years yet, but new material is easier and better produced
on digital camera. E6 is already ebbing. Apart from a dwindling pool of
film diehards and archivists, this is how it is going to be for most.
I can now see no way to rescue this list from terminal decline except
moderated posting, or at least zero-tolerance moderation. I simply don't
have the time or energy for either, even if I did want to play policeman,
which I don't.
All I can suggest is ignoring/deleting posts you can't be bothered with, or
killfiling contributors. Unfortunately that won't leave much useful
content, for all the reasons given.
I am considering closing the list entirely, as filmscanning is now just
another tool in the box. As such, the Prodig list, or various other lists
or forums, may support better-balanced debate.
Regards
Tony Sleep -
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