> 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.
Rob, I agree with all you have written above. Lee was the owner but she did
not care enough to manage. The unrestrained political garbage posted by two
members repelled me.