re: other voices, was etiquette

["Kenton Bird" <kentonbird@hotmail.com>]

Visionaries:
Thanks to Bill Strand for posting the original mission statement for Vision 
2020.  And thanks to Michael Thompson for his thoughtful comments, excerpted 
below:

"I wonder, then, if we need to take a collective deep breath and remind 
ourselves of what we're  trying to do here.  I don't think this forum is 
"working" in terms of  its original objectives.  And I don't think it is 
"working" for many  individuals, which is why there seems to be a flurry of 
drop-outs.  Maybe those with more experience with the original terms of 
reference for the group can speak up here.  Perhaps these dialogues are just 
what people wanted...."

As one of the founders of Vision 2020 in 1993 as a physical (as opposed to 
virtual) group, and a charter subscriber to the e-mail list in 1995, I'd 
like to address the "original terms of reference."

We were concerned about a lack of public participation in local government 
decisions, particularly those related to growth, planning and zoning.  And 
we were concerned that local news media were not adequately covering these 
issues.  So the original discussion group, and later the listserver, were 
seen primarily as a way to alert people of meetings, public hearings, 
openings on city committees, etc.  I certainly envisioned it as more of a 
bulletin board than a debating society.

At one point, about four years ago, there was a proposal for a separate list 
dealing with school issues but it never caught on.  I wonder, though whether 
this might be the time to create a second list for those who wish to argue 
local, national and world issues at length, and keep Vision 2020 for 
bulletins, announcements and *short* comments about local issues and events.

In the meantime, I'd like to call readers' attention to a collection of tips 
for e-mail etiquette which I found through an Internet search. (Several 
other lists to which I belong have similar guidelines.)
http://www.cs.queensu.ca/FAQs/email/etiquette.html

Several of the suggestions -- including the need for accurate subject lines 
and quoting only enough material from previous messages to provide context 
-- apply to some of the recent discourse on Vision 2020.

And let me close by thanking the folks at First Step Research, who support 
and maintain this list and its archives at no charge.

I like the variety of viewpoints on Vision 2020, but I'd like to see fewer 
(and shorter) messages, especially those that have no direct connection to 
local government and public policy concerns.  (I'd be glad to continue this 
conversation -- off list -- with anyone who has a supporting or contrary 
opinion.)
--Kenton

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