Editorial

Echomail Rogues
Doug Myers

Two villains have been fingered in the current discussion about ELIST procedures in the MODERATOR echo: moderators who don't quite get around to updating their echoes, and echomail "rogues" who list the echoes in their own names once the listing expires. Ironically, the first villain is perceived to get exactly what he deserves: a moderator who doesn't pay attention the the elist procedures loses that listing. And yet the "rogues" who come along and list the expired echoes are perceived as somehow mucking up the system.

They can't both be villains here! If the moderator who starts and maintains an active echo, but falters on the updating, isn't doing his job, then the "rogue" who steps in and does it shouldn't be faulted.

The MODERATOR discussion initially promised to set up a legitimate dialog, but has lately fizzled into a round of mutual back patting on the status quo. The status quo may indeed be desirable here... but echomail "rogues" are part of that status quo.

The most prolific of the echomail "rogues" is Bobby Queen. Yet he maintains that he performs a service to Fidonet, rescuing echoes for the participants which are in danger of extinction due to the lack of action of the original moderators. On the other hand, Thom LaCosta, Echolist Keeper, expresses deep reservations about the desirability and usefulness of Bobby's operation.

These reservations are fine - from such differences of opinion are fine dialog derived. However, the reservations alone are insufficient - they must be recognized as an inevitable part of the status quo.

In fact, if the status quo is to be staunchly defended, then the echomail "rogues" will inevitably have to be seen, ultimately, as heroes of Fido Echomail.