2.4 Front porch rules apply------------------- [What does "Front Porch Rules" mean?] Rodney Leist-- The BBQ List is a loose-structured, tight-knit group of folks from all over the world who have adopted a casual 'front porch get-together' climate for discussions. If you've never participated in a front porch meeting before, here's the way it usually works. Generally, at the start, serious topics are discussed in depth and at length with many varying opinions, pro and con, thrown out for whatever they are worth. For us the topics involve what and how to barbecue (and all that goes with it). As time wears on, jokes and bull sessions are injected and other topics gradually creep into the discussions, displacing the primary topics. Some folks who are not interested in the off topic exchanges, may decide to take care of some other business for a while. Hopefully most of them gradually return. Occasional lulls in the conversation occur. Some folks get busy or stop to ponder, or maybe even sulk, then all of a sudden, the discussion fires back up to a "Del key" numbing pace before once again returning to issues focusing around the primary topic. The cycle continues into the wee hours of the night, again and again and again. Along the way, somehow we manage to talk a lot about barbecue. With any front porch gathering, there's always assorted types of folks from 'very verbal' to 'quiet and reserved', and so it is with the BBQ List. Some posters you like, some you respect, some you tolerate, some you wish would go away and some you hardly even know are there. The single most important thing gluing the front porch session together is that everybody stepping up on the porch is there because they have something in common and want to be there. Listening, learning, participating and tolerating who and what you don't like is what it's all about. These are the things that make the front porch meeting work. So, come on up and grab a chair.
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