Erica, Thanks for this. I'm glad that you understand where I'm coming from and can relate to the difficult task of running mailing lists.
I accept that I was harsh and more dismissive than I might otherwise have been; it is true that I've been battling a lot of spam and abuse elsewhere and I've become a lot more sensitive and reactive when I see it. So for that, I apologize; if anything I should have taken it off list and then, as has been suggested, responded publicly with a more dispassionate list of guidelines to encourage the kind of participation that we're looking for here. That said, I think it's worth understanding my process in evaluating this message in the interest of transparency and peer review. 1. the original message was unsigned; since there was no signature on the message, there was no individual attached and no responsibility for the email. This is a strong indicator of unsolicited email. 2. The tone was, as Tara said, more promotional and instantly "selling" than conversational. Most real spam that I get has the exact same ring to it. 3. I didn't recognize the sender and, even though Shauna pointed out that they have posted to this list before (once, on Aug 10 [1]) I didn't recall "My Day Office" as an in-process coworking space, or as a space that registered as being a regular contributor to this list. 4. The website seemed incomplete, and it wasn't obvious whether or not it was reputable. I think when I looked at it, I had a hard time figuring who was behind it or where it was located, and, given the tone of the email, didn't help me figure out whether it was a human sending out the message. 5. I did a search on the sender of the email ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) within this Coworking mailing list and found no previous messages; on top of that, the sender had joined the list moments before sending the email, and in the past, spammers have joined the list, sent off their missive and run off, never to be heard from again. Since this message followed that pattern, I was therefore convinced that it was a spammer and I don't tolerate spammers abusing communities that I'm involved with. Now, what's interesting to me and what I'm gaining from this experience is that spam filters, both digital and human, are fallible. It's never my intention to chastise someone who merely makes a mistake and as I mentioned, I should have taken this off list first. On the other hand, I think that posting some guidelines for expectations (Tara's list) somewhere public to help educate folks on what kind of communication we're looking for on this list would also be prudent and might have avoided this cases where Shauna and Dominique were apparently not aware of kind of messages we look for from members of the community. So, I do apologize for coming across harshly. It wasn't something that was done off hand or out of spite, but because, based on the the process I outlined above, I really did think that your message a commercial abuse of the community based on the lack of context and my lack of prior knowledge of your post to the list. I would ask that you guys make yourselves more regular members of this list and to be transparent about your experiences and things you're learning as you get going. Coworking only works insomuch as folks are willing to share of themselves and of their experiences with the larger community. Now that I know that there's real people behind My Day Office, I'm eager to hear how you're putting the coworking principles into practice. Chris [1] http://groups.google.com/group/coworking/browse_thread/thread/3334ebe0e0d2e3d3/0f91e60c9bafd143?lnk=st&q=mydayoffice.com&rnum=3#0f91e60c9bafd143 On 9/25/07, Erica Douglass <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi all, > > Good thread, and I agree with most of the comments made. Chris, I > understand why some would take your response as harsh, but as the > moderator of 3 other community-focused mailing lists, I also > understand the tendency to pick up on anything promotional as "spam." > It undermines the value of the list to other people to have spammers > on it, and I get why you responded the way you did. > > My thought on this is that there are a lot of people out there who > simply do not know or understand how to interact properly with a > community, particularly in a written space. Too often, especially when > sending out a mass email, it's easy to say "me me me, promote promote > promote" and hard to express genuine emotions or feelings about a > subject. I think many of us in these sorts of written communities > (forums, mailing lists, bulletin boards) have only learned the proper > way to communicate via a series of trials and errors. It is really > hard not to just go in and promote. With that said, I think the > primary directive of this mailing list -- and one that prevents spam > -- would be simply to: > > Listen (and ask questions) FIRST, and promote LATER. > > A lot of forums I'm on require some sort of time spent on the forum > before self-promotion is allowed. This is to help develop an > awareness. This isn't as easy on a mailing list. Having said that, > those who are obviously trying to get into the coworking spirit should > be allowed to do so. I think this email was an honest one. > > I also agree with Tara that rules should be posted clearly, and > perhaps sent to the list on a monthly basis. (Mailman mailing list > software lets you do that automatically, and put it in an email when > new members sign up...I'd recommend both of those options if available > in Google Groups.) > > -Erica > > On 9/24/07, Chris Messina <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Coworking spaces don't spam their members or use bulk email to promote > > themselves. > > > > If you're interesting in participating and contributing to the > > community, we're more than welcome to hear from you; drive-by postings > > to this list will be considered spam. > > > > I look forward to your feedback, and ask that you, in the future, you > > refrain from posting self-promotional emails to the list without > > balancing your correspondence with positive contributions to the > > larger coworking community. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Chris > > > > On 9/24/07, My Day Office <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > My Day Office is now open in downtown Seattle. Tired of meeting with > > > clients in coffee shops? Worn out running between the copy center, > > > mailbox and notary? Finally a workplace that has it all in one > > > place! From virtual offices to physical offices, My Day Office is > > > where work happens. My Day Office offers meeting solutions with open > > > work areas, private offices, and conference rooms; mailbox rentals; > > > shipping services; fax, copy and printing; and full secretarial > > > support with wifi and state of the art technology. Patrons may > > > become members and enjoy substantially discounted fees on rentals and > > > services. Costs are much lower than executive suites or other retail > > > mailbox or copy centers. For more information on the products and > > > services or to reserve a private office or conference room visit > > > www.MyDayOffice.com. > > > > > > > > > What makes us different? > > > > > > My Day office is a spacious and modern business center with expansive > > > windows that provide plenty of ambient light and a contemporary decor > > > with rich brown an blue tones. > > > > > > Our friendly staff can assist you with your paperwork, business plans, > > > answering phone calls and shipping. > > > > > > > > > A hot-house for up and coming entrepreneurs and great business minds, > > > My Day Office offers a series of business workshops and networking > > > events to give you the tools you need to take your business to the > > > next level. My Day Office is conveniently located at Elliott & Broad > > > across from the Spaghetti Factory and overlooks the Olympic Sculpture > > > Park. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Chris Messina > > Citizen Provocateur & > > Open Source Advocate-at-Large > > Work: http://citizenagency.com > > Blog: http://factoryjoe.com/blog > > Cell: 412 225-1051 > > IM: factoryjoe > > This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private > > > > > > > > > > > -- Chris Messina Citizen Provocateur & Open Source Advocate-at-Large Work: http://citizenagency.com Blog: http://factoryjoe.com/blog Cell: 412 225-1051 IM: factoryjoe This email is: [ ] bloggable [X] ask first [ ] private --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
