[Leica] The changing face of the Lug

[Erwin Puts <imxputs@knoware.nl>]

In the (admittedly) rosy view of the past, the members of the Lug 
followed this prime directive: to share expert and reliable knowledge 
about Leica products and to explore the wonderful and fascinating 
world of Leica, technically, historically and artistically.
Every contributor tried to be informative and bring information to 
the best of his/her knowledge. When information  was faulty or 
defective, the message was: "might you be willing to reconsider the 
statement as it could be improved upon".  The common goal was clear: 
we all benefit from the best information about Leica we can find and 
that can be corroborated.
But since a number of months this directive no longer works: the 
content orientation has been changed to a egocentric orientation. Now 
a contributor would say: "I do not care if I am right or wrong: the 
Lug is a place where I can state anything I wish to say and if you do 
not like it, use the delete button". The rudeness of persons and the 
thinness of the information are of course correlated.
Many people have mailed me privately asking me to start an 
alternative mailing list. That would be the worst option. The Lug is 
made by the people who contribute and only they are responsible for 
its content and course of direction.
I have as an alternative expanded my site with a Leica FAQ(weekly 
updated), produced a guide for choosing a Leica M, gave the real 
figures about the rangefinder, made a tribute to the M3 and many 
more. Next will be the Voigtlander 4.5/15 and a comparison between 
the Focotar 2,8/40 and the Apo-Rodagon, which will surprise everyone.
On the M7 case:
announcements of a new Leica M model have been made on and off this 
list for a long time. Mr Gandy is not the first, nor will he be the 
last to make statements to this effect. David Morton is correct is 
insisting that information with a high journalistic content should be 
treated as such. It is however anybody's personal responsibility to 
mix fact and fiction. And anybody may note this mix and deplore it.
I prefer to read that someone assumes on available information that a 
new M model will be announced in the near future. Any stronger 
statement cannot be proven in a documented way.
The same for the  R8 situation, the R9 and whatever the fertile mind 
can come up with.

Erwin