Re: Adding Secondary High Voltage Mail List group ? ? ?

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>

Hi Mike,

At 07:49 PM 5/3/2003 +0100, you wrote:
>...........
>
>I think that the subject of Marx gens in particular, and  spark-oriented 
>HV topics in general is
>sufficiently 'close' to Tesla Coiling that a large proportion of the Tesla 
>list would have some
>interest/expertise, and is likely to generate sufficiently few postings that
>a) most Tesla list members would not object to such topics, and
>b) would not generate sufficient traffic on their own to justify a 
>seperate list - lists with little
>traffic tend to die out without a 'critical mass' of postings.

There is no doubt that this list's topic is "Tesla coils".  If the number 
of posts per day is high (like 50+) there is no room for anything else.  If 
things are slow, I may let other closely related things sneak through.  The 
recent Marx generator thread was one.  Things like Marx generators, HV 
stacks, and other hobby high voltage generators are "close enough" to sneak 
in from time to time if things are slow.  They are also electrical machines 
that may have many questions as to their construction/operation that "we" 
will know.  I usually do not allow Van de Graaff generators and other 
electrostatic machines since they are well discussed elsewhere and are more 
physical devices rather than electrical (plug into the wall machines).

Other HV-lists have failed.  Other Tesla coil lists have failed...  I think 
we just have to try and see...  Personally, I think a well moderated 
non-commercial (no darn pop up ads) mailing list would do well.  Mailing 
lists also have the advantage that they keep your attention since they clog 
your mail box all the time.  Only those truly interested stay...


>I think it may be useful to consider widening  the scope of this list a 
>little to cover subjects
>like this.
>Although HV in general is too wide a topic, perhaps something like 'Tesla 
>coils (and other HV
>devices whose primary purpose is to make sparks)' would cover the majority 
>of topics likely to be of
>interest to the majority of the list, without widening it too far into 
>areas like lifters etc. which
>have their own active lists.

I think it comes down to a posts per day thing.  If someone signs onto the 
Tesla coil list and gets 50 Tesla coil posts a day they are happy.  If they 
get 50 Tesla coil posts and 25 "other", I think they will be unhappy.  Of 
course, one could easily sign onto both or one of the lists too as they wish.

I like Chip's idea that the other list could handle "everything else".  I 
have to turn many cool things down just because they are too far off the 
topic of Tesla coils...  The new list could decide if certain things should 
not be discussed.  I assume (and I am sure Chip will specify) that goofy 
things like Tunguska explosions, free energy, anti-gravity, etc. would be 
not allowed.  That moderator would have to probably struggle for awhile 
defining the bondarys and all...  But I would think that any HV thing one 
could, and hopefully is, "building" would be on topic "except" for Tesla 
coils :o))  After moderating 54537 posts myself to be sure that they are 
about Tesla coils, I am not sure I could handle being sure a post is NOT 
about Tesla coils :o)))  I am happy that it looks like there will be others 
that moderate it ;-))  I certainly "could" do it, but a fresh moderator for 
a fresh group would truly gets things going fresh and new!!

One advantage our list has is that it IS totally controlled.  All posts are 
pre-moderated and nobody tells Chip and me what to do.  So if things start 
to go bad, we CAN fix it.  Usenet has no control so 80++% of some groups 
are trash...  Some on-line groups are post moderated or "sort of moderated" 
so a lot gets through and a lot of discussion is spent trying to fix 
things...  No one really has the authority to "stop it" when it needs to be 
stopped.  I think these sorts of problems are what really killed many of 
the groups.

I think a well run High Voltage Mailing List (maybe HVML?) would do very 
well.  It may have a little rough time getting started and making it clear 
that one's anti-gravity flying saucer positronic anti-matter idea isn't 
going to get posted (unless they have it running and can fly it over to be 
sure :o)).  But once it gets going and people see that it is not just 
another "whacko" group, I think they will come.  One thing us and the 
Lifters group have going for us is that we both deal in real equipment and 
real machines.  So things can be judged on how they "really" work and the 
truth is in real results.  That cuts out a lot of "just talk".  I would 
hope that the new group would be focused mostly on actually building 
practical HV machines just to keep things in true focus.

I want to sign up!!!

Cheers,

         Terry