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Keeping Orion Net to its proper purposes
Dear Subscribers to the Orion Net
I have been away from my computer for the last 48 hours. This
morning, as I read the mail, I find myself rather concerned
with the way Orion net has gone in recent days.
I have consulted with the Moderator of the net. We are going
to draw up some considered guidelines for limiting the field
of discussion to serious consideration of matters relating to
the purposes of the Orion Center for Study of the Dead Sea
Scrolls and Associated Literature. These will be posted
soon. For the moment may I say the following:
I take this opportunity or repeating those purposes which are
communicated to all who subscribe to the Orion Net, although
perhaps, not quite in the same form as I will now write:
a. The Orion Net is dedicated to SERIOUS, SCHOLARLY discussion
of the DSS and Associated literature.
b. The Orion Net is designed to dissemination of information
about the DSS and Associated literature.
I might add that there are discussion groups for general
topics of Judaism, Ancient Near East, Early Christianity,
Second Temple Judaism. A good deal of what I have just read
in recent discussions is not appropriate to Orion Net's
character and purposes.
With these comments in mind, I must ask those who wish to
carry on discussions, lively and interesting as they may
be, of other topics than those to which the net is dedicated,
to do so either directly with each other or on other lists.
Please be thoughtful of the over 300 subscribers who wish
for serious discussion of Scrolls and Associated
Literature and do not carry on irrelevant strings.
When we were establishing this list we had a serious
discussion of whether it would be a moderated list or a
free one. We decided initially to choose the latter option.
That option requires participants to focus their
communications on the topic of the discussion group.
It requires a recognition that many subjects of
of scholarship are not a matter of opinion but of knowledge.
In line with the above, please send responses to this
missive to me directly or the the Moderator,
Avital Pinnick, msorion@pluto.huji.ac.il
If these general guidelines are followed, this will be a
fruitful network discussion group. The Orion Center intends
to make sure it is just that.
Michael E. Stone, DIRECTOR
Orion Center for Study of the DSS and Associated Literature
stone@vms.huji.ac.il