Maybe I am old enough that I remember the 60's too well, despite the adminition that if you can remember the 60's you weren't really there.

PM has a feel of community about it. We all have a common interest, some have a common cause, we certainly have a social commonality about us when you read the CB for any length of time. OK, thats too 'touchy feely' for you, no problem, I can understand that. I use the trerm 'community' becuase as soon as I became familiar with the monastery I found it a very comfortable place to be. Why? Because I am not surrounded by fourteen year old script-kiddy apostles for the God of PHP. Call me agist and elitist if you want! But many other places I find that the inhabitants expect as soon as you are talking CGI or Web Services that you are talking PHP.

To be honest, I don't find the monastery at all pompous. If you have a genuine and well researched question you will get a darned good answer here, something which sadly cannot be said of Usenet. And to be honest I can't remember when I started using Usenet, but it would have to be at latest th early 80's. The last thing I think I wouild wish to see is the Monastery become anything like the Usenet of today.

As for the slow interface, well how could anyone but agree!

As for slashdot, well, I hope they enjoy it over there. I sure as heck don't. Yet my experience here has been very positive.

jdtoronto

PS: Gee, you made me think back there. When did USENET start? Late 70's would be my recollection. I remember meeting Vint Cerf at a conference at the Univeristy of Sussex in 1973, our connection to ARPANET in those days was via University College in London if I recall. The next big thing I remember must have been the early 80's when there was a huge debate over renaming USENET groups. The Europeans didn't want to pay for the bandwidth to being the 'flaming groups' to Europe! What brave days they were.

...jd