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

Tue Jun 30 13:34:06 EDT 2009

And by the way...  I happen to use gmail and have no problem searching for
anything I want to find again even among listserver output to my mail box.
 By contrast I get hopelessly lost traversing some of the putatively
organized discussion trees of some forums.  Convergence yes, and a hint that
more convergence would help some alternative systems.

On Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 11:17 AM, Frances, Melodie <mfrances at gtu.edu> wrote:

> Actually I DON'T like listservs - everything is all in one pile (who has
> time to set up folders and even if I did I would never read them lol) -
> I actually finally signed off of autocat even though I need the
> announcement type stuff because it has too much traffic.
>
> I would rather have a kind of news thing with announcements separated
> from discussion - personally I think we still use listservs because we
> are familiar with them and with most of us having to constantly learn
> new 'harder' stuff we just stay with stuff we do know. Plus, god knows I
> do NOT want to subscribe to a blog or another social sight or anything
> else - I'm amazed the brain can hold as many logons that it does but I
> do not want to add more.
>
> Time is the mitigating factor here - the time it takes to get the
> information that YOU want, the time it takes to learn one more frickin
> system - and of course, the time it takes to do 2-3 jobs.
>
> Interesting that this discussion is happening on a listserv ...
>
> Melodie Morgan Frances
> Head of Cataloging
> Graduate Theological Union
> mfrances at gtu.edu
> 510-649-2521
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
> [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Edelblute
> Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 9:16 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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-- 
Steven E. Patamia, Ph.D., J.D.
Personal Cell: (352) 219-6592