Hey all was going to announce this when it was actually working but I¹ve set up a new list called backstage-developer; it¹s a list totally devoted to developers and technical issues around BBC feeds and APIs it will be policed to ensure this is the main aim of that list. You¹ll still be able to post these questions to the general list and I¹m sure people will still respond but I think there¹s real value in some of the conversations on the backstage list and I don¹t want them to stop.
As soon as I can get MajorDomo to play with the list correctly I¹ll post details on how to join here. m On 16/8/07 09:25, "Andrew Bowden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >> >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Butterworth >> Sent: 16 August 2007 08:47 >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: Re: When are we going to get another list? (was: RE: [backstage] >> BBC iPlayer Protest tommorow, Tuesday 14th, 10:30AM, White City) >> >> >> Chris, >> >> "Finally, remember that the noise is the signal. You can't post too much. >> Deploy filters." >> >> http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html > For my sins, I've been involved with online communities since 1996. During my > university years it sometimes felt like I did little else. > > There's one problem I've personally seen with the signal to noise argument, > it's that in a situation where there's huge amounts of noise, ultimately > people get fed up of filtering out the noise all the time, and can't be > bothered adding the signal - because it feels like, "what's the point?" > > Then there's the second problem - people who newly join a list, just see the > noise all the time, wonder where the signal is, then disappear off. I've even > seen communities wither away and die because of it. > > Now sometimes signal to noise works - it helps a cohesive group of people > together. I'm on a couple of mailing lists where the noise helps the > community bond closer, so new people become new friends. (However of course, > it can make lists look a bit insular - which can make it harder to join lists > as a newbie) > > It's also got to be said that the majority of people on a mailing list don't > post. I don't know the stats for this list, but I'm on a mailing list of 300 > people, about 20 of which post regularly. There's a lot of readers, and > occassionally some of them post, but mostly it's reading. Why do people join > a list and not post? Well to get the signal. So if there's very little > signal, you lose your incentive to remain a reader. > > Sorry, but my own experience says signal to noise is NOT a simplistic > situation as some people like to think. When the noise works, it doth good. > When the noise doesn't work, it doth big harm. > _______________________ Matthew Cashmore Development Producer BBC Future Media & Technology, Research and Innovation BC5C3, Broadcast Centre, Media Village, W12 7TP T: 020 8008 3959 (02 83959) M: 07711 913241 (072 83959)
