[at-l] public conversation & TMI

[Phil.Heffington@oc.edu (Phil Heffington)]

TJ wrote:

"Some topics are just not meant for polite public
conversations!!   All *natural phenomenon* do not necessarily need to be
discussed in the open.   Just because I prefer certain topics be
reserved
for books and non-public forums, does NOT keep me uninformed.   Nor
should I
be forced to hear about it because you have a burr and horn to toot!"

The good thing about "public conversation" such as this list is that it
has a delete key.  We in academia get this type of argument all the time
when some student doesn't think that some topic of discussion isn't
proper for the classroom.  We all have some sense of what is "proper" to
discuss, and in what forum.  This forum, however, doesn't force any
topic on anybody, just like the TV doesn't force us to watch the vast
amount of junk that makes up the 90% of viewing possibilities.

There are times that certain "women's issues" gives me more information
than I want to know (a friend of mine calls it TMI for "too much
information"), but hey, I'm a big boy, and wouldn't want to limit the
discussion to only what appeals to my particular sensibilities.