A few days ago the number of ECOLOG-L subscribers reached 13,000. I
started the list in 1992. It reached 6,000 in September 2006, 7,000
in November 2007, 8,000 in October 2008, 9,000 in March 2009, 10,000
in April 2010, 11,000 in September 2010, and 12,000 in February of
this year (that's almost enough data points to plot a significant
growth curve!). Many subscribers are members of the Ecological
Society of America, but those of you who aren't can get information
about membership (including student memberships) at the ESA Web site,
www.esa.org.
The character of the list has changed some as it has grown over the
years. It has become a major resource for those advertising or
seeking positions ranging from research assistantships, graduate
student opportunities, postdocs, and faculty positions, as well as
jobs in government and industry. But it has also become a little less
conversational as I've had to strike a balance between overwhelming
people's mailboxes (and the server) and continuing its original
function as a venue for queries and discussions about ecological
topics. I hope all subscribers will continue to use it for such
topics. Note that there is also another list (ESA-STUDENTS)
available for use by students; you can subscribe to that by sending the message
sub ESA--STUDENTS [add your name here]
to
[email protected]
It is currently moderated by [email protected] (Liz Harp)
There is only one other non-campus listserv list hosted by the
University of Maryland that has more subscribers than ECOLOG-L, and I
now have to be careful about not overloading the listserv server by
sending too many messages in a short period of time. Thanks to the
University for providing this service for ecologists from around the
world (over 60 countries), and to the three or four people (mostly my
postdocs) who have helped moderate the list when I'm out of the
country or in the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
David Inouye, list owner and moderator
Dept. of Biology
University of Maryland
[email protected]
