[Web4lib] Are e-mail discussion lists still relevant?

[Louise Alcorn]

I have to agree with Thomas that for what you might call largely passive
reading lists, with occasional quick responses, email is still
preferable for me.  I like the forums and 2.0 Ning-type sites for more
collaborative, long-term projects on narrowed topics, e.g. a Drupal
development discussion.  For something more free-ranging on a broad
topics list, such as Web4Lib, I like the email lists with a searchable
archive.  As Thomas says, it's 'in your face' to keep you de rigeur, but
it's also easily deleteable by thread for efficiency.  If Web4Lib were
an online discussion forum, I'd check it maybe once/week and miss a lot.


My 2 cents.   

Louise E. Alcorn
Reference Technology Librarian
West Des Moines Public Library
4000 Mills Civic Pkwy
West Des Moines IA 50265
(515) 222-3573      louise.alcorn at wdm-ia.com
http://www.wdmlibrary.org   



-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Edelblute
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:16 AM
To: 'James Day'; 'web4lib at webjunction.org'
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Are e-mail discussion lists still relevant?

Due to my workload, I have to make priorities of what I have time to
read.  E-mail is the first and foremost.  It is always up and in my
face.  My RSS feeds I might get to once or twice per week.  Blogs I
might look at once per month or less often than that.

Maybe you have time to look at other things, but I had four down
machines yesterday so everything, including e-mail, took a back seat
yesterday.

Thomas Edelblute
Public Access Systems Coordinator
Anaheim Public Library


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of James Day
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:01 AM
To: 'web4lib at webjunction.org'
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Are e-mail discussion lists still relevant?

I have wondered over the years as to why librarians still like their
email lists.  In Libraries, online discussion forums (or bulletin
boards) are a completely overlooked Web 2.0 service.  Within many other
industries and communities, forums are much more prevalent.  Forums can
be thought of as a collection of mini blogs where everyone is equal and
free to start a discussion and get comments.  They have the following
advantages:

* Forums are Web-based rather than email-based.

* Forums are instant archives and searchable immediately without having
to try to find out where the email archives are located.

* Forums can be subscribed to so that you will receive an email
notification when a new comment has be made; the emails can even include
the post content so you have, in effect, an email list built in.

* Forums are still asynchronous, yet can provide the ability for
real-time, instant message-like communication.

* Forums can be as public or private as the administrators and members
wish.
Individual forums can be hidden unless the person is registered and
belongs to an appropriate group.

* Forums do not display your email address when you post but allow for
the sending of email or private messages via the forums.

Forums (or bulletin boards) ARE social networking sites: they allow
avatars and profiles and friends and such.  But forums are FOCUSED
services and discussion content is the main draw.  They don't have to be
as general as Facebook or even Ning, but small Web "silos" which can
have more exposure than an email list.  Much forum software (such as
phpBB and YaBB) is open source and is even included as a module in
Drupal.

I'm willing to test whether librarians prefer email lists or are ready
to try online forums.  Recently I built a website with a blog and
discussion forums for just this reason (and nicely integrated WordPress
with phpBB for a seamless look).  It is a GENERAL librarian discussion
site, not specifically for just the tech geeks among us.  The website is
called LibraryPros with the blog at http://librarypros.com and the
discussion forums at http://librarypros.com/forums.  Let me know what
you think, via forum or email list.

James Day




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