READ THIS

[Lawrence Weeks]

Hey guys,

I was getting ready to do some updates to things next week, upgrade
the mailing list software to a newer version, migrate the archives
to something better, so on. Then I thought: should I?

The SE-R list has long been the central gathering place of
knowledgeable people in the SE-R community. Nearly everything
important that has happened in this community has originated or been
discussed here. However, it appears that that is changing. Quality
list traffic has fallen off quite a bit, and it appears that a lot
of that traffic has migrated to web forums and some regional mailing
lists. I have noticed more and more that answers to questions are a
link to a discussion on a forum. Many longtime knowledgeable list
members no longer interact on the mailing list, much, or at all,
yet apparently do so on forums and other lists. There have been not
insignificant SE-R community events lately which have been announced,
planned, and took place, but never a whisper was heard on the mailing
list. This is not a good situation.

The mailing list has been around for nearly a decade, but times do
change. There is little point to maintaining the mailing list if this
is the pattern for its future.

I'd much rather close the list down cleanly than meander into
irrelevancy. My primary concern in this would be the effect on
the community. I know that for me, without the mailing list, my
involvement with the online SE-R community will basically cease. I have
no interest whatsoever in joining some web site, having to "log in"
to post messages, and not be able to use vi to edit my messages. :-)
However, if the list is indeed becoming irrelevant, then I do not
want to encourage people seeking access to the SE-R community to
subscribe to it. They should go where they will be best served and
where the community is still vibrant.

If you have any feedback on this, feel free to write to me. I'm going
to make a decision on this fairly soon, and basically already have,
but the nearly one thousand subscribers may have some opinions of
their own.

Larry
--
Lawrence Weeks      "Audaces fortuna juvat."      dev@anabasis.net