SV: [Y-Indology] an appeal to "scholars"

[Guest guest]

Michael Witzel [sMTP:witzel] skrev 12. juni 2001 00:14:

> It is indeed best just to shut up or answer only to serious Indologcial

> questions (maybe better privately!!).

>

> This list has deteriorated beyond description, as was expected when

Dominik

> set it up in this form... Similar excesses on other not moderated lists.

> Forget it.

 

With all due respect, this was entirely predictable. That is why some of us

wanted a closed list for professionals in addition to the more popular

fora. The problem is quite simply this: Any Internet forum which is open to

the public at large, will easily attract all sorts of people. In the

progaganda war between various brands of Hindutva ideologues and other

amateurs with other ideological agendas on the one hand and professional

academics on the other, it is obvious that an open scholarly list will be a

target. If professionals are on such a list, they have the option of

shutting up and leaving the show to the amateurs, or they can take

responsibility (as Witzel repeatedly has) and speak up. I personally think

that if you are on a list where the public at large is admitted, it is your

duty to speak up when nonsensical information is being propagated as the

Truth. On the other hand, scholars would need a quiet place where they

could discuss matters of importance to them in peace. Someone suggested an

A- and B-list. The A-list for pros with posting privileges, whereas others

only have reading privileges. The B-list for the general public, where pros

could step in and participate in the general debate to the extent that they

have time and energy for it.

 

> This is supposed to be a discussion list, which means, at least in a

> traditional sense, that it is not about scholastic, vivaada style

'winning'

> a point and about shouting, but about learning something new from each

> other. Well, forget it.

 

Please remember that a propaganda war is essentially directed against

intellectual innocents who are not necessarily impressed by strict logic

but by elegance of phrase and street-smartness. Not to mention volume. If

you want to take part in a propaganda war, you must play according to those

rules at least some of the time. In the end, the target for rational

discourse is the person who honestly doesn't know what to think, and who

asks for hard information. There are a few of those around too. And they

are our responsibility.

 

Best regards,

 

Lars Martin Fosse

 

Dr. art. Lars Martin Fosse

Haugerudvn. 76, Leil. 114,

0674 Oslo

Norway

Phone: +47 22 32 12 19

Mobile phone: +47 90 91 91 45

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Email: lmfosse