At 10:04 AM -0500 11/20/99, Tom Neff wrote:
> be true. I get spammed at AOL approx. 8 times per week, versus about 10-15
> times per week at (for example) panix. The only accounts I have where spam
> is nonexistent are at services like Bigfoot where they offer an aggressive
> spam filter as a checkbox option.
>
> So this is not a theoretical argument at all...
And mine is the opposite, despite the fact that my aol account is not
advertised anywhere.
> That is something of a non sequitur. What I am saying is that the ability
> to provide service, PER USER, should not degrade as an ISP grows,
Which is like saying that, on a per-user basis, a McDonalds should
have the same caliber service as that 10 seat restaurant down on the
wharf. Nice in theory, but reality doesn't scale, Tom. It really
doesn't.
> We all find fascination where we can.
Yeah, we sure do.
On the other hand, it brings up a fascinating question. What is
list-managers for?
I don't ask that lightly, either, but to be honest, I view
list-managers as a place where, hopefully, people who actually do
this stuff can compare notes, get advice, and get some advance
group-think/group-warning on emerging technologies and trends.
But it's not. Mostly, it's Ronald, a self-admitted non-list-manager,
trolling the list to tell us why were all idiots and doing it wrong,
people like Nick, who only seems ot show up to browbeat AOL, and a
few others who primarily seem to view list-managers as a place to
complain aobut what everyone else is doing wrong, but never offer
solutions or alternatives, and others who feel that if it was good
enough in 1985, it's great now (Hi, Rich! grin).
I've been getting pretty ruthless on which lists I stay on, because I
simply don't have the time. And list-managers has been on the bubble
for a good year now. I can't remember the last time I got useful
information off of it, but I stay around because I keep hoping, and
because I think maybe I can help someone else once in a while. But
usually, all that does is get me yelled at by Ronald or Nick or Rich
again, since, god forbid, I don't always toe the party line. n
So why am I here? Answer: I dunno. But the bigger question is -- why
is list-managers here? Because it seems it simply isn't used unless
someone wants to complain about what someone else is doing.
Is that what people want this list to be? Because fine, I'll leave
and let you enjoy yourselves. Me, I'm seriously considering starting
up a mailing-list-futures list, just to create a forum where people
can talk about where to go next, because frankly, we can't do it
here, not with the way this list deals with issues. I've tried a
couple of times, and it always gets buried in the noise from the
troll, and all I ever seem to hear is why whatever it is is a bad
idea -- not how to improve it, fix it, or make it better.
Whither list-managers?
chuq
--
Chuq Von Rospach - Plaidworks Consulting (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
Apple Mail List Gnome (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
Dogs see you as family
Cats see you as staff
