Thank you, Lawry, for your constructive criticism regarding Future of work. Hearing from Charles and Gail today is also encouraging.
While I agree that there is too much dissonance, my assessment would be the broader problem is less with the individuals posting, and more with expectations of what we are supposed to be doing. Arthur and Sally were visionary in providing space and context. Today, there are myriad venues online where people can converse, share discoveries and compare work product and ideas. The internet has changed enormously since FW was initiated. And naturally, our communal interests have changed as well. Since this is not a moderated list it depends on the collection the readers bring to share. It is incumbent upon those who want to read about and discuss more narrowly-defined Future of Work items to proffer them. Many times in the past few years I have posted items in the hope that there will be some reaction, spark a conversation or thread, when a vacumn existed, adding to the cafeteria menu, as Gail described. Others have left the list for various reasons. Sometimes it is just time to move on. I've certainly considered it more than once. But if more people were posting, fewer lurking, there would be less [negative] concentration of posts that distract others from the [positive] openness of the list and the online community we have built. I would prefer some structure - along with some friendly boundaries - but a priority should be drawing more voices into the conversation to keep the big tent and variety of input as stimulating as it can be. This does not depend upon a few "star" posters. I am offering this simple outline, hoping for a reaction: Beginning of the week business/economic and work-related posts to share. How about a midweek Book and Scholarly review 'section'. End of the week socio-cultural-political topics related to the world we live and work in. Is that too calendary? The purpose would be to provide readers with a space to share and time to tune in, hoping to add new voices, wider input when some don't want to write an essay but allow for more creative participation. These FW conversations have contributed to my learning and comprehension, for which I am deeply grateful. If we choose, we can address the issues that need updating. I hope we can. Time is a precious commodity for most of us, and we have stayed here because we value the community, not just the input. But we have to maintain both. It's up to us. Regards to all, Karen _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list Futurework@fes.uwaterloo.ca http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
