Hi Lu, Craig, Matt, Ian and All
I think Matt's said just about everything I would have said if I'd been
at home last night and not out at the cinema watching a wonderful film
that's unlikely to make it to the other side of the pond.
[email protected] wrote:
[Lu]
I would like to contribute more, but... there are just so MANY words!
Agreed.
Agreed here as well - there are times when MD seems more like twitter
than an email discussion list!! I'm sure if members could at least try
and stay within the rules then there would be a lot less traffic.
Perhaps a twitter-style 128 character post limit would be useful!
Looking at the amount of noise per post, as Matt points out ,how hard is
it to hit shift/page down/delete and don't get me started on the number
of posts which are just copies of previous posts with nothing whatsoever
added. The big problem, in my opinion, is that many members are not
prepared to take their time when replying so as to produce easily
readable replies and counter-replies. A one line reference along with
relevant snips and cuts would make posts much more readable.
Horse,
At present, this site separates the "MoQ Forum" ( = monographs)
from the "MoQ Discussion [MD]" (= dialogue).
I propose a third (dare I say) "level" (= chat). (Can be pronounced with
an "sh" sound.)
I had intended to start a bulletin board style discussion group some
time back but as Matt has said it would likely kill the MD list and that
would be a shame as the MD has become quite well known as THE place to
discuss Pirsig's MOQ. It would also be much harder to maintain and
moderate with all the problems that this would entail. I do think about
it from time to time and have experimented with phpBB (which seems quite
reasonable) so I'm not ruling it out - just not in a rush to make more
work for myself.
As Matt also points out we've tried other lists (MF) which start out
well and then slide off into oblivion after a while due to what appears
to be lack of interest and poor participation. There's also the
requirement to moderate posts and try to get members to stay within the
rules - and the amount of vitriol that can be generated when a post gets
rejected is not even remotely funny. And if you want a more leisurely
paced discussion list you need moderation to ensure adherence to rules
or you'll just have 2 lists which generate too much traffic.
The archives are overwhelmingly close encounters of this third kind.
They have become worthless for research & would prohibit any endeavor
such as "Lila's Child II".
Not sure we need LC2 - the first one was great but a huge amount of work
- just ask Dan. I agree that it's not easy to trawl through the archives
but it's also quite good fun to just dive in at random sometimes and see
what turns up.
I propose that what is now the MD NOT be archived permanently.
Instead, a t the end of the exchange on any subject, the initiator & others
should summarize anything of value & summit it to the archives.
That'd be nice - can't see it happening though. And any summary would be
immediately subject to disagreement and more discussion which would
require further summary. There's also the point that there a quite a few
people (non-members) who use the archives to follow discussions instead
of joining as members and having umpteen post drop into their inbox
every day. I like the archives and can't see why their presence should
be a problem. Perhaps, if members wish to summarize particular threads a
new list could be started which is not subject to replies or discussion
- one way submissions only. Dunno - it's a thought though!
Everything else could be deleted.
What's your obsession with deleting stuff - it doesn't cost much to keep
the whole lot.
That way nothing of value gets buried (or lost).
Except for all the original data.
Also, Horse, any post with "Horse" in the subject line, gets automatically
forwarded to you.
I have a filter set up for exactly that purpose - the subject line shows
up as bold and red. Crude but it works.
P. S. Is there any difference between "thread" & "subject"?
Well, the spelling's different! :)
Overall, I think that if members took a bit more care over their
replies, removing irrelevant text, keeping to the subject, not firing
off huge numbers of posts etc. most of the problems would go away - but
I've said something very similar on a number of occasions and it just
gets ignored. Personally, I would prefer quality to quantity but that's
just me!
Horse
--
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an
attractive and well preserved body, but to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine
in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what
a ride!"... Hunter S Thompson
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