[Martin Taylor 2004.05.16.11.37]
[From Bryan Thalhammer (2004.05.16.0945 CDT)]
"Here is the deal: There are now two forums that a person interested in PCT
can subscribe to (or unsubscribe from):* CSGNET: CSGNET@listserv.uiuc.edu (LISTSERV)
* csgnet: csgnet@yahoogroups.com (YG)
Three, actually. The ECACS Forum (Exploration of Complex Adapting
Control Systems) is another. It isn't intended to cover the same
ground as CSGnet, in that the main theme is not really an examination
of PCT in the usual sense, but is intended to be an exploration of
how complexes of control systeams adapt, whether the complexes be
many individuals, cells within a body, theoretical aseemblages of
elementary control units, or whatever.
The basic idea of ECACS was to complement the main CSG Web site and
CSGnet, and to collate exploratory forays into the interactions of
large numbers of control systems. Self-organization, obviously, ought
to be a major issue, but it hasn't yet been discussed there. And much
of the discussion so far has been on matters other than the main
theme.
ECACS consists of a Web site (<http://www.ecacs.net>) which so far is
almost empty, which has a link to a Forum (called the Explorers'
Club, or the Pub) that has several areas and a few threads with many
messages. There are areas that are intended for archival and
administrative material, but, like the Web site, these are still
largely empty.
Early on, the ECACS Pub was beset by some of the personal nastiness
that has flared up from time to time on CSGnet, but two things more
or less stopped that. One was the introduction of what we called "The
Roughneck Room" where personal attack and defence was permitted, and
at the same time disallowing it in any other area of the Forum.
Secondly, one member who persisted in posting personal attacks in the
technical areas had posting privileges suspended, and decided to
resign from membership in the Explorers' Club. Since then, discussion
has been very much more productive (if not always germane to the
central mission of ECACS 
There's no moderation in the Pub, but the Administrators (of whom I
am one) reserve the right to move messages and parts of threads to
places that seem more suitable than where they are initially posted
(including, on occasion, to the Roughneck Room). This is most likely
to occur when ongoing threads develop a life of their own on a quite
different topic from the one advertised in the thread title.
One great advantage to a Forum as opposed to a mailing list is that
messages stay current and available. A thread may pose a question
that is unanswered for several months, and then be rejuvenated by a
new idea. In a linear e-mail list, this is difficult, and the same
arguments often recycle. In teh ECACS Pub, there's a tendency at the
moment for there to be much discussion on one thread, then on
another, but all threads remain active, so an abandoned topic is
easily revived without the readers being lost as to the possible
references of the new message.
The forum is linked from the Web site <http://www/ecacs.net>, and is
open to anyone to read. To post, one must be a member. At the moment,
new members are registered following an e-mail request to Jim
Beardsley <ECACS.Admin@Beardsley.US> or me. A member has a "profile",
which can be set so that new messages on all or on selected topics
are delivered by e-mail that contains a link back to the message on
the Forum itself.
Martin