Invisible Hands, was Re: Multihoming sites and ARIN

[Matt Magri]

In a way I would rather have sent this as e-mail only to Stephen
Satchell, since I hate to give offense, even to someone who crufts up
my reading list as diligently as Jim Fleming. In the end I figured it
should go out to the list, tho I apologize in advance to folks who may
wish I had decided differently...

Stephen Satchell wrote:
> Paul Ferguson wrote:
> >I don't understand why you even bothering answering this dreck. It looks
> >like that instead of just placing a 'From:' filter on Fleming, I'm going
> >to have to filter any message that has a reference to him anywhere in the
> >message header, or message body, to get any satisfaction here.
>
> Hey, why not remove *all* the pain and resign from naipr at arin.net?  If you
> don't want to see the discussion, then don't.  That's the easiest.  If you
> don't remember how, we can help you find the instructions.

Maybe Paul isn't as cynical as you are about the general content of
naipr. Of course, you may be right that it consists of little more than
the unique spectacle of people taking Jim Fleming posts seriously.

> One of the best things that ever happened to me in my career as a
> journalist was that I was forced to read *ALL* of the mail generated by my
> articles.  It taught me a number of things about how to present my views in
> a way that could be understood by the widest audience as quickly as
> possible.

How sad that we didn't all receive copies of your correspondence at
that time, as well. If only naipr had been around then.

> I also learned that some of the most awful dreck had something to which I
> needed to pay attention.  It's a little like copper mining today:  you have
> to go through a lot of tailings to get a little metal, but people *want*
> the metal.

Then why not read and comment on every newsgroup and mailing list on
the net? Think of all the posts that need your attention which are
slipping by every moment. What? Not enough time or resources to read
and comment on everything? Well, I guess you'll have to be selective.
In that vein I might suggest that with very little effort you will soon
find posts more worth your attention than Jim Fleming's.

> There is a contrary view held by others.  I suggest that if you don't want
> to see any more contrary views, you better add me to your mail filter as
> well.

Ooooh... the righteous-crusader-for-free-speech bit. Kewl, dude.
Unfortunately, this isn't about the sanctity of free speech or the
value in considering "contrary views" (which, in this case, would mean
views contrary to reality, I suppose). It's about using our limited
time and resources as wisely as possible. Let me point out the obvious:
you can "suggest" to be added to people's mail filters all you want.
What will actually get you there, though, is a very tenuous
acquaintance with How Things Work(TM), a consistent and almost cheerful
inability to learn from anyone who replies to you, a propensity for
grand schemes and announcements, and an insatiable desire to post as
often as possible.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to provide a galaxy-based e-mail address,
as well... ;-)

Matt