J C Lawrence wrote:
> As a side issue, one of the reasons I'm looking to tie mail lists, RSS,
> and a Slashdot analogue together into one is to provide as close as I
> can get to a seamless on-ramp and training ground for new list posters.
> I've found that many are more comfortable with web forums, feel
> themselves less exposed, and less commited in whatever activity they
> take there -- so using that as something of a bridge into more formal
> higher signal venues seems to make some sense.
From a list *user's* perspective, this makes a list very unattractive
to me.
I've dropped most of my Yahoo Groups lists (all on topics that are of
great interest to me, and these lists are the ONLY lists on these
topics) mainly because the ability to post via the web interface has led
to a lot of newbies who refer to the list as "this site", who fail to
quote any of the previous post so we can't tell what they are referring
to when they talk about what someone else said, and who are frustrated
that instructions on how to attach a photo to their post don't work for
them (you can't add an attachment to a post when you post thru the Yahoo
Groups website interface), etc. So the lists end up with tons of
content-empty posts to these inept newbies (no one understands the
concept of "private email"), and it becomes unbearable to try to find
the content among all the noise. I have seen many people with clue
(both technical clue and topic clue) join the list, post a few times,
then dissappear. It's just not worth it to try to participate on a list
like that - even when you know your participation is of great value to
the list, the personal cost is too high to make it a satisfying venture.
So, I highly suggest you carefully consider these drawbacks as you
proceed in your project. If my experiences are anything to go by, most
people will end up being the clueless newbies using the web interface,
and the other interfaces will be mostly unused as the people with the
technical clue on how to use them become tired of the list personality
and leave the list.
jc
(eeek! I've deleted 4 cc's on this post. Those of you who want cc's,
tough, I feel that it's just plain bad form to reply to a list post and
cc 4 other addresses.)
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