Fate of the list

[Lawrence Weeks]

Once upon a time (Sat Aug 17), Chris Davis wrote:

> I think to dismiss the design of websites as "pretty" is
> not fair. More over it is a disservice to graphic design in
> general. Beneath the attractive exterior is a framework that helps
> you direct your attention quickly and efficiently to places that
> interest you without excessive searching. It is far more intuitive
> and consistent than this list has been.

> It is true, progress has left this list behind in many ways. The
> content is probably the best we have to choose from (for now) but it
> is truly a text field of miscellaneous information thrown together
> in a 10-point font with serifs. Perhaps if the strings could be
> kept together in digests somehow rather than posted in chronological
> order. Or maybe there could be columns that organize the fields as
> far as sender info, subject matter, time and date it would be more
> efficient to scan. Perhaps other thoughtful touches like different
> fonts or text sizes for subject fields and that kind of thing.

And therein lies differing paradigms. Mailing lists are preferred,
largely, by "power users." Why? Because we have the tools and the
knowledge to use them to handle the traffic and shape it and organize
it to fit our particular preferences. I prefer mailing lists because I
see them as a source of raw data which is delivered to me, rather than
my having to seek it out. My computer organizes and presents it to
me as I wish via filters and a highly configurable and powerful mail
client. As a result of that viewpoint, I see interactive web-based
mailing-list-like things as an annoyance, largely pretty eye candy
restricting me from using the underlying data as I wish in the way that
is efficient for me. A graphic designer and a web site designer has
tried to anticipate how I will want (or should want) to use the data,
and has designed an interface and a look to suit their notions. A
web site sees visitors as an audience to whom a particular view and
interface will be presented, perhaps customizable by that audience in
a way thought of and permitted by the designers. So for me, those web
sites are generally slow, cumbersome, annoying environments. However,
for the current generation of Internet users, perhaps what they offer
is an entirely appropriate, reasonable and desired thing. To each,
their own.

As for the mailing list, this is not a product I am attempting to
sell. You get what you get, a mailing list. It won't ever have somebody
designing a more refined look to it, it won't ever have fonts beyond
what the subscriber can configure on their end. I don't really care
what medium people use. I just don't want to maintain a mailing list
which is not going to be used, which is not going to be the vibrant
community it once was. If that is the fate of the mailing list, far
better to recognize that, close it down, and encourage people to move
on to where the activity is. I'm willing to give it until the end of
the year, see how it is being used, and make a decision then.

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