HAWKWIND / BOC what's the point? space does not care

[M Holmes]

Robert C. Mayo writes:

> well: i've been signed on for a month now, and i'm left wondering if
> my magic machine is working correctly.  i've been virtually ignored
> (except by a close personal friend, a friend who forwarded me your
> list for months and helped me sign up); i've posted a few things that
> i feel deserve some response, or in some cases directly requested
> responses, and got zip.  my latest (Hawkwind-related) query was posted
> 2X before someone responded.  probably out of pity.

Don't take it too personally. A number of people here are reading email
at work and sometimes it's just not possible to reply.

> was i filtered
> out of most of the Hawkwinder's lists because most of the replies to
> my first few postings were BOC-related?

I have to say that I've never filtered anything from this group.

> if so, then what the hell am i
> doing here? you represent youselves as a group who are here to
> exchange ideas, opinions, and information.

Well there's been a lot of information, and sometimes so many ideas that
they've had to be declared off topic.

> what it looks like to me
> is a clique of exclusionary elitists exchanging reminiscences and
> nit-picking over microscopic detail, to the exclusion of outsiders who
> are wanting in.

There being some serious Kollectors here, and the bands having been
around for quite some time, I'm afraid that for many of us, it's the
details which are important. That doesn't mean however that there's any
active attempt to exclude anyone.

> you'll only talk to others who know exactly what
> you're talking about.  who can learn from that? neither you nor me.
> i'm a fan! i wanted to learn from you all! what i've learned is that
> i'm not s avvy enough for your club.  what you've lost here is someone
> who's gotten into hawkwind in the last 5 yrs (through a good friend
> and member of the list, and through Motorhead fandom): a newcomer's
> perspective, some fresh, objective opinions; a metal fan's POV, a huge
> Lemmy supporter with an interest in the band's history, a collector
> looking to fill in some holes in a fast-growing collection--but here
> is not the place for the eager novice.  here is the place to exchange
> war/gig stories, drop names, and play hipper-than-thou.  so i've had
> my say, at least to those who haven't filtered me.  life goes on.

As a contrary opinion (who me?) I'd say that this is one of the most
active groups of people I've ever had the pleasure to know.  Many
projects concocted by people who only know others by email would fail
through simple apathy.  Here I've seen the creation of the
discographies, the Codex, band histories, personnel and gig lists, some
amazing web sites, the creation and distribution of several rounds of
t-shirts, the compilation from amongst the group of a set of covers
tapes and their subsequent distribution to anyone who wanted a set,
various tape trees, people hunting rare albums and singles for folks in
other countries, trading of tapes and CD's on an impressive scale, the
setting up of our own currency exchange scheme. I've met people here
before gigs and while travelling. I've had computing advice from people
(and I'm paid to give computing advice).

So if you think folks here are playing Hipper Than Thou, I think you're
just flat wrong, though I worry about the kind of miscommunication that
would lead someone to that conclusion. I believe that the amount of
cooperation to complete projects here by people who've usually never met
and have no particular reason to trust anyone else to do their part is
quite simply astonishing. It's all still happening too.

I used to go to SF conventions. At first that meant spending a weekend
in a hotel with folks you didn't know from Adam, and who all seemed to
have peculiar and obsessional interests. Best advice, I was told, was to
volunteer as a gofer (gofer this and gofer that) where you make yourself
a flunky at the disposition of the Con committee. It's a hell of a way
to get to know people, and I've learned that it applies to any club
where you're a newbie.

So before you give up on us entirely, I suggest offering your services
to folks who want to build a website or compile a discography, or start
a project of your own and recruit help. I truly believe you'll be
impressed by the results.

> rmayo

FoFP