Gould 0738 wrote:

So, Noah, and the other people who even give a rat's behind about my opinion
(both of you, maybe), the group should take rec.boats whatever direction the
group wants it to go.

The fact is, the group 'is' taking rec.boats in the direction it "wants"
to go. The recent proliferation of OT posts is a reflection of the
current interests of the group who post and read. The very popularity of
those posts is all the justification required. When someone has an "on
topic" question or contribution it fits quite well between the other
posts. It is the contributor, not the topic which provides the
continuity in this group.

All readers are welcome to ignore those posts which are of no interest.
I find the discussion about how to change the windshield on a speedboat
off the topics I am interested in reading about. Does that mean I should
read them and complain about their existence? That would be a bit
arrogant and elitist wouldn't it?

No one has yet to hold me down and force me to read a single post on
this newsgroup or any other. I find the complaint posts as odious and
boring as the complainers feel about the posts that generated them. Is
there a hierarchy of complaint and offense? Does Noah's disgust trump my
interest? When I tire of reading the complaints or the noxious
utterances of certain posters I simply ignore them and find other more
interesting threads.

Rick