I'd say that a) one/newbies need(s) more than archives - perhaps a few
folk to list on the website summaries of discussions on recurrent themes....
(like the alchemy issue, the hoax issue, the clothing/fashion issues, the
character formation issue....); b) sometimes being jolted into restating ones
position can be clarifying for all concerned.
The problem with summarizing the
discussions that have ocurred over the years is exactly what that
WIKI thread was all about. The ability to cross-reference all the
ideas that have been said before would indeed make life easier. I still fall
prey to 'new ideas' that were already noted and I hate to say
- sometimes even ones that I raised earlier and forgot
about. Numerous people have mentioned that so many of us toss a simple
statement out there as casual observations and don't really follow up on the
leads... they're right. I'm quite guilty of tossing general comments
out there hoping that they might tweak somebody else's interest enough to
follow up on. It's a brainstorming session where nobody is really
keeping track of all the good points along the way - even considering the ones
they don't agree with.
That
said, am I going to lead the change to an organized environment...
doubt it - I'll just leave the idea out there and see if somebody
else is interested enough to
follow up on the idea (again).
There are a number of websites out there with a very good overview
-- Rene's is probably the best in my opinion, followed closely by the
considerable efforts of Jorge Stolfi, who has unfortunately disappeared
from view for too long.
John.