> On another note, a Hitchens fan forum I'm on, on Live
> Journal, is populated with the most obnoxious types of
> pro-war, anti-left, Freeper-esque people. The forum leader,a
> fan of Hitch, even has a picture of an angry-looking American
> eagle as his user pic.
Out of sheer curiosity, what utility do you obtain from participating in such fora? It is a bona fide question. I participate in, say lbo-talk, because I see certain utility of such participation, such as learning about interesting books or papers, or having someone summarizing complex issues, or learning new things. This utility outweighs the usual tedium of listservers: pettiness, ad hominems, flame wars, inside references and jokes, or trivia. But what utility is there in participating in listservs that on their face appear to offer nothing but such tedium? I mean, do not people have better things to do with their time?
Wojtek