[Rhodes22-list] Political discussion is diluting the value of the Rhodes 22 newsgroup

[Paul Krawitz]

Ed K,

First of all, thanks for the invitation to South Carolina. Actually, there
is terrific sailing here on the north shore of Long Island, where friends
and I go out three times per week on sailboats ranging in size from 16 to 44
feet. The marina constantly tries to steer me into a larger boat, since
every winter I'm the runt on the lot. But I like my Rhodes best.

I appreciate your strong feelings that in order to keep the list ongoing,
that alternative discussions need to take place, or else the group will
atrophy.

But I'm not a "newbie." I've been a Rhodes owner on and off for the past 12
years. I may not contribute that frequently, and you may not consider me
"salty" enough, but recently I made a long post in response to the plethora
of problems people were having with their Yamaha outboards. So I want to
contribute.

Yes, there are pen pal friendships (and even in-person friendships) made
because of the newsgroup discussions.

Terrific.

It would be even better, in my opinion, to make the discussions sailing and
boating related. And this could be loosely defined...interesting sailing
venues, how does sailing help you to emotionally cope with stress, photos of
get-togethers with other Rhodies, applauding Stan's magnificent writing and
outstanding web site (which is what drives his sales after all these years),
best practices to maintain your boat, how to get the Rhodes to point upwind
better, sailing poetry, and more. In other words, not all the Rhodes
discussions have to be posted looking for help to solve an emergency
problem.

To suggest that political commentary is necessary for the success of the
group, and furthermore to acerbically attack the "newbie" for questioning
the wisdom of placing political commentary on a sailing newsgroup, is both
short-sighted and mean spirited. And it's unfortunate to see dispirited
people leaving the list.

There are several people who emailed me privately, agreeing that the group's
politics have gotten out of hand and hurt rather than help the subscriber
base. Unfortunately, they were afraid to post their comments and face the
very public ridicule that I am braving.

Ed, since you seem to be one of the group's most vocal proponents, perhaps
you could initiate a weekly discussion on pertinent sailing topics and ask
everyone to respond. That would make the group both more vibrant and on
target.

Paul K
"Clarity"