Unwanted listserv mail

For those of you who moderate or administer the listservs (yeah, two of 'em...) I'm about to reference, please don't take this as a criticism of the listserv itself.

But WTF? I'm on both an internal union listserv and a professional listserv, and I'm having to read about the "unexplained facts" of 9/11 and how all these "well what abouts" are "proof" of a more sinister design?

Here's the deal - there is a lot of shit we don't know about what happened on that day, either because it wasn't witnessed or it's been hidden. Sure, the government is keeping secrets, because it's hiding a colossal organizational failure - a vast domino maze collapsing because of the arrogance, greed, and hubris of those who held power.

The breaking down of the weakest links, as it were. And the people who were responsible for weaving this tangled web of fuck-ups, they don't want you to know about it because they're Covering. Their. Asses.

That's it. Stupid people hiding massive bungles. They sure manipulated the fuck out of 9/11 afterwards, though, didn't they?

Which is all very important, and there should be a robust and completely open investigation into what happened on that day, examining both the institutional structures that failed and how the nation's political and economic leadership exacerbated the situation. You could have that discussion here if you wanted...

Wait - no you can't.

Why? Because this entry isn't about 9/11 - either reality-based observations or tinfoil hat speculation. It's about hijacking a forum. Discussion listservs are nice ways to share knowledge, and its inevitable that off-topic information will be shared - and usually not much of a bother. It typically goes along the line of MAD LIB LISTSERVE EXCHANGE #23: "Hey I just [action verb] this really cool [noun]. I thought it was [adjective]. You should [action verb], too."

But for the love of goddess, please don't fucking clog my email inbox with a discussion of the minutiae of every single hole in the story (we know about them), excuses about why people who are sceptical are wrong (we mostly agree with the sceptics), and uninformed speculation (we kind of think you're... erm, "off-base"). I'm not saying don't have that conversation. Just don't have it in a forum where people are visiting for a completely different reason. Take it somewhere else where people who give a shit can talk about it.

Let me repeat. A little friendly, informative chatter; maybe a suggestion to take the conversation elsewhere (the internets are HUGE and space is cheap, I hear) = AOK! Posting rambling lists, and then considering it your "duty" to correct arguments you feel to be "unfounded" in multiple off-topic follow-up emails = SYFP!

Oh, and just assuming that it's okay to re-print someone's personal email in a public forum, along with their address, because you can tell what the author's unwritten intentions are is Never. Fucking. Cool. Have the courtesy to fucking ask permission.

Criminy.