READ THIS

[Chris Pronios]

Larry,

I have been on the list since mid-1998 and I have enjoyed both the
"community" feeling of it and the priceless knowledge  I have acquired
through the posts. Note that I live thousands of miles away from you people
but the "community" feeling has always been there.

My short opinion:

You should upgrade and keep the list functional. Do not abandon it.

My long opinion:

It is reasonable and expected that, over time, alternative modes of
interaction (like web forums) will attract the interest of the entire
spectrum of people, from newbies to experts. However, things tend to
equalize over time and return to the "mean". An example of what I mean is
Nissanforums. Started with every expectation that this forum would be the
end-all forum for our community. It has degraded very fast to just another
forum, even with MikeK's presense. I trully believe that this list will soon
again be the center of our community.

I cannot really assess the lack of "event presentation" through the list.
However, technical information on the web forums has been below-par when
compared with the LIST and the ability to post images cannot top the ability
to simply 'save" only the posts I want (and this is something only the List
offers me).

My "recommendation":

1. Keep the list.
2. DEFINITELY upgrade the archive search engine and presentation engine. The
archives are invaluable for everyone and would be even more so if a more
sophisticated search and presentation mode was available.
3. I am sorry to point this out but most of the humans operate by
"association". If we perceive that List A is better than Forum B in any way
we tend to remember List A first. In my mind the List is strongly associated
with SE-R.NET. SE-R.NET was once THE PLACE 2 BE. It has been all but
abandoned long time ago. No updates, no new content, no attraction. Unless
this changes, the List has little chance of survival. Every now and then we
hear of a soon-to-be-realized update of se-r.net that never materializes.
Why don't we proceed in upgrading both the list and said site in tandem? I
am positive that we can do it and keep both of the Original SERious SR20
information exchanges alive and thriving.

Chris
1992 Sunny 2.0GTi
Athens GREECE