I'm finding this fascinating - and *extremely* well timed, for me! I joined the list in... 1997, I think? I believe I found it from a reference on alt.stagecraft (speaking of changes in social media - remember usenet?) I was a theatrical costume designer, with an interest in historic costume.
I was on and off a bit the first few years - depended on internet access... when I got my own computer in 2000, this was the first list I subbed to. I read regularly and was active for a number of years, but then I had an attack of life, designed less, and had less time - stayed subscribed, so I can look things up, but rarely read and never posted. Life has calmed down a bit, and I'm trying to get back into some of my interests and activities. I just started looking at the list again, and the first thing I noticed was how slow it is... it used to be almost overwhelmingly busy. But yes - almost all of my textile lists (I also spin and weave) have really slowed down - as indeed, have all my lists. (I do still recognize quite a few of you - but there are also some names I don't remember - which might be faulty memory on my part, but might be new blood...) I agree with Fran that a value of this list is the wide range of interests - I'm *not* just interested in any one time or place. And I may or may not be actually making anything - so the dress diary format is of limited use to me. And I think we started losing people when the Yahoo lists became popular - everyone got used to just looking there, and some, I know, resisted any other format. (In fact, most non-Yahoo lists I knew of died altogether - we've really done quite well.) I know that it doesn't work to just stand there insisting "People *ought* to do it the way they always have! It worked, after all!" I spent enough time 10 years ago arguing the value of email lists to people who "just picked up the phone and called" - and couldn't see that calling never reached enough people... So now, I'll continue to enjoy this list (which is still busier than many, and has people I remember as knowledgeable) but also start looking to find where other people actually are. Is there a costuming presence on Ravelry? Even though it was specifically founded for knitters, I've found a lot of other textile people have migrated there... For many, it seems to be because the format allows them to keep track of many interests in one place. (I'm not active there - see attack of life, lack of energy - but it's another place I want to start reading again, now that I'm recovering.) In some ways, for me, that fact that the list is slower makes it easier to rejoin - my inbox won't be flooded if I can't read for a day or two. It means less information, though... Anne On Mon, Aug 8, 2011 at 1:08 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > So here are the questions...how did you find the h-costume email list? And > what year did you join? It will be really interesting how the newbies have > found it. > > I found it as one of two costume email lists in 1996 on AOL. > > Penny Ladnier, owner > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
