FWIW as a Ruby beginner (which I presume includes most of us east of the
Pacific prior to the publication of Dave's book) I find the in-depth
discussions very interesting and informative. One may not need to know how an
automobile works to drive one, but those who do can drive them better :-)

Also, I am familiar with other languages and programming concepts and from what
I see on this list, so are most of the rest of us here.  So the in-depth
discussions are not "out of range".

At the other extreme, experts can and do learn from novice's questions, so the
benefits flow both ways. Relative to many of the more "mainstream" languages,
Ruby is itself a "nuby" and IMO the depth and breadth of experience levels we
currently find here is a valuable asset to the project overall.

Additionally, as a group, you people are damned interesting! And I can speak
with some authority on this as I subscribe to a large variety of mailing lists
covering a widee range of subjects :-)  For me, both the main topic here (Ruby)
and the people involved are among the most interesting of the lot!

In fact, I look forward to reading this list.  It is my relaxation.  I keep a
console window open with eval.rb running to play with the code snippets.  I
keep a special file folder for more thorough work with the detailed and
involved threads.  So, maybe I don't "have a life <smile>. So, maybe I don't
care. :-)

Bottom line is I enjoy this list as it is.  Like David Allen Black, I am
thrilled to see the interest base grow. On the XP lists the term "Ruby cult"
has cropped up.  So...what is wrong with that. <g> This is a very enjoyable
experience.

If the it is decided the list is to be split...I want "in" on them all.!

Warm regards,

Kent Starr
elderburn / mindspring.com