We are missing the point here.  Those who are bored and leaving are very
much needed and we should strive to keep them. The listserv is a
community.  Below is a quotation I collected somewhere (sorry I didn't
make a note of the author):
 
        "A very subtle and entirely serious game of comparative rank is played
by all social animals.  It is the method by which individuals arrange
themselves - horses in a herd, wolves in a pack, people in a community -
so that they can live together.  The game pits two opposing forces
against each other, both equally important to survival:  individual
autonomy and community welfare.  The object is to achieve dynamic
equilibrium.
 
        "At times and under certain conditions individuals can be nearly
autonomous.  An individual can live alone and have no worry about rank,
but no species can survive without interaction between individuals.  The
ultimate price would be more final than death.  It would be extinction.
On the other hand, complete individual subordination to the group is
just as devastating.  Life is neither static nor unchanging.  With no
individuality, there can be no change, no adaptation and, in an
inherently changing world, any species unable to adapt is also doomed.
 
        "Humans in a community, whether it is as small as two people or as
large as the world, and no matter what form the society takes, will
arrange themselves according to some hierarchy.  Commonly understood
courtesies and customs can help to smooth the friction and ease the
stress of maintaining a workable balance within this constantly changing
system.  In some situations, most individuals will not have to
compromise much of their personal independence for the welfare of the
community.  In others, the needs of the community may demand the utmost
personal sacrifice of the individual, even to life itself.  Neither is
more right than the other, it depends on the circumstances; but neither
extreme can be maintained for long, nor can a society last if a few
people exercise their individuality at the expense of the community."
 
Sylvia in Alabama