The archives are useful as a way to keep track of what has been
discussed in the past, or to understand the development of an idea or
a consensus (if that is possible........). Deleting the archives
completely would diminish the community-building resource you are
seeking to create.
You didn't specify whether the requests to delete came from an
original poster, or from a person who was offended or harmed by a
post. In the case of the former, the person has to live with their
comments; in the case of the latter, deleting those posts might fuel
speculation that the list owners are suppressing certain individual's
comments.
Bottom line, this is an unmoderated list, and the archives should
reflect that.
Jeff Griffin jeffg@turbonet.com
Affirmative Technologies http://www.affirmnet.com/
Affirmative Technologies provides complete solutions to the
electronic publishing needs of small businesses and organizations.