Homestead mailing list

[Rob <becida AT comcast.net>]

I woke up this morning wondering what happened to the homestead list.

An e-mail list is (was?) a new type of community, a group of people 
with almost instant written communication drawn together around a 
common theme. In this case a the concept of homesteading.

For many years this was an active & vibrant place to be and then it wasn't....
Did everybody give up the homestead dream? Did the world change so 
much that the group was not necessary?  I think "not" to both of 
those, there are still active groups in the internet world and 
somewhat on facebook. The dream (or necessity) of doing it yourself 
is still there.
A lack of leadership? Maybe, leadership on a list is hard to pin 
down. The leader could be a knowledgeable regular poster or a list 
owner who both posts & keeps order it is rarely the totalitarian who 
rules with the iron fist, lists have to be at least a little fun to 
keep people.
Did one person manage to poison the well? That is possible, people 
left the list rather than deal with the poison.

I think enough people left (for whatever the reason, I'm guessing 
poison & no leadership) that the dynamic of the list fell apart and 
the community that was people, their words and ideas collapsed & is gone. Sad.

Bye.

Rob