> Well - goodbye to SLUG.
Having subscribed to a number of lists over the years I suspect that
there is in fact a natural life cycle that lists go through, I'm sure
some behavioral science grad could put up a PHD on it.
Lists usually start out with a small core of people who are deeply
interested in the subject, word gets around that the list is good
value and more people join, then the mocking and knocking starts.
At first this is tolerated but as more join less people are inclined
to speak up about technical topics as 90% of the mail they get back
is insulting or degrading with only a few posts actualy of any value.
Slowly but surely the list signal to noise degenerates, the more
topic savy users start to leave and the list degenerates further...
etc etc.
So how can we get it all back together?
. Recognise that you are posting to a list of 100's (1000's?) of
people. Keep your posting small and to the point.
. Don't post OT, putting OT in the header is no excuse just don't do it.
. Learn how to SNIP! (in bold, underlined, italics and shouting!)
. Don't say anything you wouldn't say in a public place (like the pub).
This is an informal gathering of some top IT people, think how many
potential future employers you are pissing off. (Belive me it is
a small world, I've met a lot of past colleagues in other roles).
. Don't reply to this message! just make a silent vow to start to do
some of these things. (any takers on how many people still reply?)
. The only alternative is to restrict the list to slug members
(of which I'm not one but will get around to joining soon).
Well proably wasted breath but for what it was worth....
Pete.
--
SLUG - Sydney Linux User Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/
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