> Apart from the usual "there's too many groups" and "I don't like you"
> arguments, the main one was that old chestnut, "isn't a uni a bike?".
> I guess if there was another vote this'd be raised again. I don't
> remember any "valid points" made against the group, but then I was
> fairly blinkered...
Well, the "too many groups" argument is fair, and the "I don't like
you" argument is to be expected.
The Bike vs. Uni argument is a likely one, which can be reduced by
making the differences clear in any opening proposal. I see a very
significant difference between needs and discussion of the riders of
the two.
Mark_Olson@itd.sterling.com wrote:
>I would vote no for rec.unicyling, and I would pursuade at least 5 others
>who may not be on the list to vote no as well (as a matter of fact,
>I'll see your five and raise you five).
I certainly don't want to get in a bidding war with you! :-) Besides,
you need only see 1/3 of my yes's with no's to cancel me out!
>I participated in the
>juggling mail list many years ago and loved it. It was, as is the
>unicyling mail list, an intimate group that held technical discussions
>and was quite focused toward juggling. Rec.juggling carried this
>feeling forth initially, but, not too long into its short life, it
>begain to go downhill. Flamefests, poor humor, personal attacks, lack
>of juggling related content became the rule rather than the exception.
>I once had a lot of enthusiasm for rec.juggling but, after enduring a
>lot of noise and very little signal, no more. I certainly agree that
>having a newsgroup dedicated to unicyling will broaden the audience,
>but it will do so at a price.
I was surprised by this post. I am a regular reader of rec.juggling,
and while there certainly is a level of noise, I think it is far from
excessive. Indeed, I would say it is one of the more "on-track"
news-groups that I have read, and I found it (and its related
archives) strongly stimulated my interest in juggling while I was
learning. This list (and especially its FAQ) is providing the same
stimuli for my unicycling.
None-the-less you have made a strong point; increasing the
availability via a newsgroup will increase the noise. Many of the
extra people it reaches will not be the hard-core dedicated
unicyclists on the list at the moment (2 out of every 3 posts seem to
be from a member of the executive of some unicycling association or
unicycle hockey team!) It will certainly increase the number of us
"newbie unicyclists" who will ask the same old questions about how to
do the basics, and which way is forward on a unicycle.
I guess a question the list has to ask itself is, is the desired
future of the mailing list about providing a serious discussion area
about unicycling, or is it about providing a forum to introduce the
sport of unicycling to the masses.
I, for one, don't have a clear-cut answer to that question.
ObUnicycling (for fear of this message being declared part of the
noise problem!) : My unicycling has certainly improved in the last
couple of weeks. The main thing stopping me from going further than
ever before is that I am too unfit, and my muscles just get too tired
to continue.
Can anyone recommend some appropriate warm-ups to try before
unicycling?
Regards,
Julian
-- Julian Orbach (julian@cs.uq.oz.au)
-- University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia