On Thu, 8 Jul 1993, Christopher J. Noe wrote:
> I would like to second the suggestions that have been made by various list
> users that we consider setting up this list on a machine where it can be a
> listserv list. Please note that I am not suggesting any lack of
> appreciation for the efforts of the current administrator. If this were a
> listserv, the receipt confirmation problem, the "how do I
> subscribe/unsubscribe" problem, and the suspend mail while on vacation
> problem would be taken care of. I suspect we might also gain some
> readers/members, as well.
>
> Not being a UNIX systems expert, I don't know how difficult it would be to
> make this change. Perhaps those of you who know more about this could
> reply to the list.
I may be alone in this feeling, but IMHO, I find that a newsgroup (also
known as a bulletin board) generally works better for many issues than does a
listserver. With a listserver, each person ends up getting inundated with
much info., much of it junk mail that needs to be gone through regularly.
It's one major advantage over a newsgroup is that everyone on the list is
notified of important info. automatically without having to purposely go
looking into the newsgroup.
On the other hand, a newsgroup doesn't clutter the mailbox with every
message that comes across. To access the messages, you need to take an
affirmative action (i.e., open the newsgroup file), but this allows you to
choose if and when you want to read the messages and makes it easier to
pick and choose which messages to read.
For instance, if someone asked a question about redesigning a
library, others could respond to that inquiry by adding something (known
as "posting") to that inquiry's "thread" of commentary. ANyone interested
in reading about that issue would want to read through that inquiry and
all the responses and discussions that may follow in the same vein. In a
newsgroup, this is usually easily discernible.
However, those that had no interest in that topic could easily skip that
thread and move on to issues of greater interest. The mailbox doesn't
get cluttered, nothing needs to be deleted from the mailbox, per se, and
the items remain on the bulletin board for a preselected time (e.g., two
weeks, a month, or whatever) and then can either be archived (if desired)
or sent to net heaven.
Of course, if you want to reach "everyone" for a general bulletin (e.g.,
"Let's give a round of applause to Dan and Cornelia when AALL descends on
Boston") or if time is of the essence (e.g., "We know you're packing
now, it's hot in Boston, folks"), or the message is of utmost importance
(e.g., "Red Sox ticket available!" -hey, I know my priorities), the
listserver still provides the best access to your audience.
Just putting in my two cents (with inflation, $1.35)
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