Hi
All,
I must throw in my
lot with Dr. Bengston in regards to what's appropriate for PaleoNet and what's
not. It seems to me that when there's a hot-button topic, such as the current
explosion of Evolution/ID messages, PaleoNet achieves its true potential.
Well-informed experts get to air their thoughts, opinions, observations,
interpretations, and facts on an issue that impacts millions. That strikes me as
significant and very appropriate.
When PaleoNet is in
slow patch (the norm) I see perhaps one or two messages per day.
They're of narrow focus and limited value, although the once lost but now
found colleague may not view it so. The rest of us that do not know the lost
soul, or aren't interested in obscure literature, aren't exactly stimulated by
the exchange. Nonetheless these messages are valued by all since they add to our
sense of community. The current flurry may produce 10-20 messages per day?
Certainly not an overwhelming number. I'd rather browse a dozen messages about
evolution, from my esteemed colleagues on the PaleoNet, then an endless
stream of spam.
When a
social-political movement like creationism/ID arises that can threaten the
very existence of our science, not to mention our careers/specialties, we need
to wield every tool, take advantage of every avenue of communication, and
promote every effort to counter this insiduous philosophy. It doesn't stop with
stickers in a textbook folks. The logical conclusion/goal of the Creationist
camp is the elimination of whole realms of heretical study, and you can bet
your soft-tissue that paleontology would be one of the first to be
eliminated!
Tony D'Agostino
20746 Prince Creek Drive
Katy, Tx. 77450
"The limits of a tyrant are determined by the
endurance of those that oppose him" Frederick Douglass