"Dave Beyerl" wrote in message
...
I am a hobbyist and part time tradesperson who reads
rec.crafts.metalworking (RCM) to gain insights into metal
working techniques, tool reviews and other metal working,
with the exception of welding (I separately subscribe to
the joining/welding groups), related matters,

I used to find RCM a good source for such information.
However, over the last few or more months, RCM has become
nothing less than a board for anyone to post anything, related
or not, to metalworking. The number of OT posts has reached
spam proportions and my KILL file far exceeds the number of
daily posts to this group.

There are literally thousands of news groups available
where the majority of these OT posts appropriately belong, e.g.
politics, computers, terrorism, etc. I would like to ask those
who think this group is the only one to post in to please
consider that others may not want to read or even see articles
that are not related to metalworking. Your lack of
consideration is driving away those who have a serious interest
in metalworking and may just have an answer to a difficult
problem being posed but don't read RCM because of all the OT
noise.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I've found that the regulars on RCM
tend to see the other readers as family, with RCM the medium that allows
them to "see" one another when possible.

I have to agree that there are times when the "noise" is quite loud, but
even when the subject is considerably off topic, many of us seem to find
something worthwhile to discuss, leading to something worth hearing and
saving. I fully understand how your time may be precious, for I used to
work very long days when I was gainfully employed and cherished every moment
I could find away from my work. I certainly didn't like wasting any of it.

For the most part, those that post have been kind enough to suggest when
they are off topic, and it doesn't take much effort to overlook such posts.
I'm sure you've done your best to be patient with us, but you might try
reading some of the subjects you feel are not worthy of posting. You could
be pleasantly surprised with the things you might learn, assuming you can
find the time to do so. If not, I'm of the opinion that your objective is
hopeless in requesting posts be restricted to on topic subjects. For one,
there's not all that much for the majority of us to discuss, and I'm not
convinced many of us are ready to abandon something that brings us great
pleasure if we did. Give us a shot. You might enjoy being a part of the
family.


Harold