Fate of the list

[Lawrence Weeks]

Hi,

I'll be out of town for the next few days, but I'll share some thoughts
before I leave.

First, I certainly would prefer that the list live on. But if it
is to do so, it must be as a vibrant community. That is up to the
subscribers. I don't choose the fate of the list, they do. If the
subscribers stop using the list, that is their choice.

List traffic is down by up to 50% compared to last year. What remains
is too often the banter, not substantive and of quality. If that trend
continues, it will surely kill the list, and I will close it down.

If the community chooses to move on to a different medium, that is
fine. If it is because people like pretty web sites with pictures and
stuff like that, so be it. If it is because people here have gotten an
attitude and are mean and always yell "check the archives," so be it. I
think that does happen a bit too much. Whatever the reason, people
are moving on. They may not be unsubscribing, but they are moving on.

As for things which have been said... this is a mailing list. It
takes email from people, and redirects it to hundreds of others. It
is not a web site. This list pre-dates nearly all the SE-R web
sites. It is not some extension of SE-R.net. It is not a vehicle
to the archives. The archives used to be available only via FTP,
and there was no search engine. That didn't seem to hurt the list
"back in the day." Some have told me that the list is a victim of
technology. That the newer generation is looking for the flash of a
web site and what it permits. Perhaps. The fact is, this is just a
mailing list, that is all. Just text. It doesn't allow attachments,
no pictures and such. (Though that may change soon, the new list
software allegedly does, or will soon, extract attachments and store
them on the list server, very nice.)

Now, I have no stake in this. I don't get any revenue from ads or
sponsors or anything like that. I don't pay a cent in fees. I haven't
the need or desire to compete for traffic. All I want is what is best
for this community. Hanging on to a mailing list for nostalgia is not
why it should survive. It should survive because the list membership
uses the list for its intended purpose. It should be a vibrant place,
not a place people go as a last resort. If it is seen as a resource
for the "serious" minds, to visit only when the other mediums don't
produce results, then that is the death knell for this list.

Larry
--
Lawrence Weeks      "Audaces fortuna juvat."      dev@deskmedia.com