Tom...you push the benefits of blog over list, but sidestep the benefits of list over blog.
> * Universal access. If it's a blog, you can look > for the latest posts at work, or while you're on > vacation. If you are only subscribed via email, you > have to check it pretty much at your computer. I access my list email from anywhere. I'll even check my mail at mall kiosks or from places like TDWaterhouse. How? Just aggregate your lists under something like Yahoo. Any web access gives you email access. > * Better ability to follow threads. You could skim > down the comments on a post and take them in much more > quickly and intelligently. Some people can't devote a session of time for list email, which you'd have to do with a blog...look at the list of recent emails and click on the heading to read the thread. I happen to read list mail when I'm between things, such as waiting for a print job, outputting a PDF, running a TOC, or when I need 15 seconds of break because I've lost my perspective on a paragraph I'm trying to write and I want to get away from it for a few seconds while it cooks in my back-brain Not only that, but mail gets pushed to me. Am RSS feed does also, but with email, what gets pushed is the message. With RSS, the header does and if i want to read more, another action. > posts > coming in every minute on my regular email account, I'd go crazy. Get to know filtering > So how do > you know if someone posts something new with a blog? Because you're I find that the same thing happens to me with RSS feeds. There's usually a little pop-up that displays the incoming headers during a time interval I specify. Whenever that pop-up displays, it distracts me from what I was concentrating on. With email, especially with a web mail, it only updates when I ask it to and if I'm really concentrating, I may not ask it to for an hour or more. > * Ability to search the site. I know you can search the list > archives, but > who ever remembers the URL for that? A blog would put a search box > directly > on the site. I've often wanted to search the site for content > before I post. Don't search. > * Ephemeralness of posts. Couldn't think of a better word there. > Basically, if you post something new, you usually look for > responses for the next couple of weeks. After that, you may > just not check it. But what if I don't care about anything 48 hours or more later. By then, either I have my solution or I've changed the question > someone > makes an excellent response to your post two months later? You will Two months later? it's not excellent...it's late. You get the point...if that model works for you, it beats lists. if lists work, it beats blogs. The list paradigm suits me just fine. All the others, I tend to participate less and less until I just delete it. > you at the XML conference? I hope you're at least subscribed! I > just I don't know if I am or not. If I am, I subscribed, but then because that model doesn't work for me, I probably stopped because I cannot recall if I did and I haven't been there in my recollection. As far as listening to someone speak for 20 minutes on a topic...not my thing. John Posada Senior Technical Writer "I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is." _______________________________________________ Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. Interested in Interactive 3D Documentation? Get the scoop at http://www.doc-u-motion.com -- your 3D documentation community. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals To post a message to the list, send an email to [email protected] To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com or, via email, send a blank message [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit the TCP site at http://www.techcommpros.com To find out more about the list, including archives and your account options, visit http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com If you need assistance with the list, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
