15 Dec
1998
15 Dec
'98
6:46 a.m.
On Tue, 15 Dec 1998, John Foust wrote:
What's next, purity tests and monthly check-ups to
insure that
everyone's mind and body are innocent enough to own and sell
old computers?
That's an idea. Do you think there's a greed gene we could test for?
The point was that there's more than one motivation for selling something,
and money alone isn't always it. Offering a computer to this list
when a more efficient market is known implies to me that money is not
the prime motivator, so if the seller has something else in mind,
shouldn't steps be taken to ensure that those wishes are honored?
If some Microsoft millionaire wants to pay stupid
prices for
old junk, what'ya gonna do, resort to vigilante indoctrination
until they're willing to waste weekends searching thrift stores?
There's no use getting upset about the right edge of the bell
curve of Altair prices.
I have no problem with high prices being paid, but I have problems with
high prices being *publicized* because it directly affects me and the
hobby in a negative way.
But this isn't a rant about prices, it's about expectations of behavior in
this "community." We can no longer assume that everybody on this list is
interested in the preservation of old computers, so it doesn't make sense
to offer "special" deals here with the expectation that the machines will
get "special" treatment.
-- Doug