Hi
On Mon, 13 Sep 1999, Stephen Black wrote:
> On Sun, 12 Sep 1999, G. Marc Turner wrote:
> > Although I can see the relevance to some, it was actually Dr. Saba who
> > posted the message to NEWPSYCH as well. And given the following excerpt
> > from her message, I'd assume that this is a message designed to advertise
> > her product, not just an informative message for those interested.
>
> Since it was Dr. Saba pushing her own product (and nothing else from
> her), the verdict is guilty as charged. But that's not why I'm
> posting. It's to suggest that, as this is the first spam I've ever
I disagree with the above characterizations of the Saba posting
somewhat, although I too wondered about its appropriateness when
first posted. In contrast to Marc, I think that _some_
advertising can be "an informative message for those interested."
So being one does not necessarily preclude the other. And we did
hear from at least one TIPS regular that it was relevant to that
person's interests. Unlike Stephen, I also do not think that the
message qualifies as spam, which I see as massive cross-postings
to obviously irrelevant groups and lists. And, of course,
promotion of products (e.g., textbooks) is not unheard of on
TIPs (and welcome by many, I suspect, or at least not unwelcome).
Where the Saba posting appears to fall down is in not being
directly relevant to typical teaching of psychology (unlike the
Timor postings, for example ;) ), although it is clearly related
to graduate learning and training. So I wouldn't call out the
listserver police on this one and would (as in the Timor case)
opt for more openness even if a few questionable postings slip
through chinks in our armour. My very flawed memory seems to
characterize both Marc and Stephen as being in the more inclusive
camp with respect to Tips (e.g., concerned that the not-so-new
reply modification would send some discussions off to the side).
I hope everyone is having a good start of term (at least here in
Manitoba, Canada, we have just started).
Best wishes
Jim
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James M. Clark (204) 786-9757
Department of Psychology (204) 774-4134 Fax
University of Winnipeg 4L05D
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CANADA http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark
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