Hi Greg!
 In regards to John Allen's recent message about seperating Car Audio
from Audio.. I tend to side with John on this one. For a couple of
years, since I started moderating this echo, when the
previous moderator abandoned it, we've had some excellent discussion
here on all audio topics. When I was absent for a couple of months
with sysop burnout this echo went totally downhill and was taken over by
the "my system is louder than yours and only needs bass" car stereo
folks, who don't know or care anything about audio other than loud and
louder. The kinds of things that we had been discussing here don't
matter to them. The kinds of things mostly discussed have been of little
or no interest to the majority that had been in this echo since I
started to moderate here.
 It took John to point out to me that the interests of these two
factions ARE at odds with each other, and not complimentary, that
seperating into two echos would be bests for the goals and interests of
each. You and Matt represent the audio educated auto sound catagory, a
very small subset of the total group. While you two are capable of
intelligent debate in all audio, you happen to have much more
experience than the majority of car audio people ever will, or want to.
That's fine for you. but it is becoming hell to have both in the same
echo. I've decided that this needs to change, that the two interests are
largely incompatible.
While I tend to agree that John may seem a little narrow minded on this,
trying to make this just a "high end home audio" conference, the
majority of discussion here without the car audio contingent is
excellent, the car audio is largely not. He is lamenting what this echo
used to be before.
I hope that you won't take offense with this action on my part, but I do
want to see a Car Audio echo so that we can refer that discussion there,
and I welcome you and Matt to start one (Matt had previously moderated a
much smaller Car Audio echo that my system used to carry), you and he
would make a good team to cover that. That doesn't mean you have to go
away from here, though, as you stated recently that you are also
interested in live sound and other topics that we talk about here.
 I believe that this is necessary for the best interests of both groups
for the echo to split. I'd much rather see that than to have to consider
a ban of car audio here to keep from loosing long term audiophile
subscribers, like the stereo store in Moscow that follows us carefully
that he mentioned.
 From what I've seen here recently, Car Audio would be a very popular
echo, and while I can appreciate the increase in traffic here because of
it, this echo is changing in ways I don't like to see happen. As
moderator I want it to go back to the way it used to be here.
 So, as you have mentioned, go ahead and Elist Car Audio, have some fun
as a moderator, and visit us often here. I'll do what I can to help
get it going and visit there from time to time.
-> I hate to think that there are so many in here who wish to target
-> anyone involved in car audio and treat them like a bunch of kids.
-> Rick McSorely mixed Kiss and Alice in Chains recently and the RTA
-> read 118 db at the FOH console. Why is that amount of volume
-> acceptable but not in a car?
 Because I purchased a ticket to hear that SPL at a concert doesn't mean
I will want to tolerate it caused from a vehicle next to me at a stop
light.
-> I've seen some really interesting messages in here regarding
-> technical aspects.
That's what this echo is all about. Technical aspects about how and why
sound systems work and how to make them sound better. Usually inhabited
by audiophiles, stereo freaks, audio engineering fans and professional
people... those who find most of the Car Audio discussion offensive and
childish. Not at all compatible with the "old guard" as John put it. Not
compatible with the echo as I define it in the policy of this echo other
than including a "car stereo" clause in the purpose of the echo.
 Bonnie Goodwin
 Moderator - AUDIO
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