"unless you mean that people need to admin a list to join Listowners-L. Who else would need to belong given the topic of the list?

Joan"

BINGO!

It isn't a question of need- it is a question of, to use a much used phrase in today's society, openness and transparency.

Why should one need to be a list owner in order to see, yes- and even participate in, the workings of the list in real time?

Perhaps if the list Admins were exposed to non-Admin input by regular users they would learn just exactly what the membership expects of list Admins- which just might lessen the "little tin god" syndrome that many of them suffer from.