new thread
I now have the ability to create a listserv on my host. A listserv, for those of you who don't know, is a facility to allow a group of people to communicate with each other via e-mail by sending a message to a central location. The listserv will then distribute the messages to all the subscribers. Below is a comparison of some of the features of both a listserv and this message board.
ListservHyperboard
E-mail accessWeb access
Only new messages transmittedAll unarchived messages appear in central location
Messages are seen only by subscribersMessages are available to the world
E-mail addresses are included with all postsE-mail addresses are optional
Images can be included as attachmentsImages must be posted to the web
Periodic digests can be set upWebmaster can create digests if he ever gets off his butt.
Search engines will not index listservSearch engines DO index Hyperboard
Immediacy of e-mail can encourage more participation.Pre-existence of message threads will pique the curiosity of nonsubscribers.
OK. So much for the background. Now for the poll. There are three possibilities: 1) Keep things as is, 2) Add the listserv, 3) Switch to the listserv. Please respond to this message with your preference, and give your reason for your vote.
1) is best, 2) is ok. I don't think I want 3). I'd rather not
clutter up my email box. Ever consider 4) a Usenet newsgroup?
I agree with Richard-though I'm not sure about the Usenet newsgroups.
Ditto on 1, 2 & 3. Nada on 4.
Usenet groups are too easy to spam to, so they tend to get littered with off topic posts.
I vote for (1) Keep things as is.
I'm on another listserv, and sometimes the volume of mail gets overwhelming. I switched to the digest mode, but some days even the digest is sent two or three times because of the traffic. With a web page, you can pick and choose when you read it, and what you read. Another plus is that you can generally read a web page from anyone's computer, no matter where you are--home, work, visiting friends.
With a mailing list, you get it all, and you need to browse through it all to make sure you're not missing anything.
People can be as open or as anonymous as they like here. That's a plus. Sometimes a problem, too!
Rob
Now for the poll. There are three possibilities: 1) Keep things as is, 2) Add the listserv, 3) Switch to the listserv. Please respond to this message with your preference, and give your reason for your vote.
I agree with most of the previous posts. I vote for #1 first, then #2, and I am not very interested in #3. I also subscribe to several list servers. The volume of email can really clutter up the mailbox. Further, one point you didn't include in the table is that on the message board the threads are sorted out by topic. With a list server they appear in the order in which they are sent, and sometimes it is difficult to know whether the message is worth reading, since the title may not give much of a clue to the contents.
I like things the way they are, I have too much email as it is, I don't want to miss anything.
Things are great as they are -- the discussion is much more accessible when viewed anonymously through a Web browser than it would be if you had to sign up to a list, and having the posts sorted by topic is vastly superior to the way listserv messages arrive in your inbox.
The only thing that I miss is the ability to search the discussion. I was looking for a shampoo recommendation, but it took a while to read through the existing posts and it would have been nice to search for it. (Is it possible to search the archives? Although the archives aren't current, of course.) Anyway, the only advantage of listserv is that you can search through the messages after they are in your inbox.
And of course, having an active moderator keeps the discussion track -- keep up the good work, Victor!!
I agree, Victor, keep things the way they are. Other seems complicated!
I will look into adding search capabilities.
I vote a strong Yes for 1 (Keep things as is)
I vote OK for 2 (Add the listserv, and keep MLHS)
I vote a STRONG NO FOR 3 (Switch to listserv, killing MLHS)
If MLHS is switched to a list serv, I and probably many others will be left behind for many reasons including the following:
1. I don't want more email clutter.
2. I don't want to sort through email clutter to find the MLHS messages.
3. Due to lack of a moderator, the list server will probably degenerate into sewage comparable to that found on newsgroups such as alt.sex.fetish.hair.
4. I probably will not subscribe to the email list server.
5. MLHS is one of the few moderated web sites where one can post without giving the email address to email spam advertisers.
6. MLHS is one of my favorite web sites. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.
Hello!
Nice presentation of the background.
2).
Pro keeping the WWW-board:
- Possible anonymity
- Simple rehashing of some discussion for people just finding the
site.
Pro introducing a mailing list (listserv):
- less traffic, because no index is transferred (an index could be
generated at the receiver's side, though)
- easier access for offline users (not everyone capable of receiving
EMail is also capable of accessing the Web)
- The group is a bit more closed (even if there is automatic
processing of subscription requests), which could lead to a more
thorough and personal discussion (not that that were not possible
on the WWW-board...)
Now, I want to counter some arguments brought in against a listserv:
First: You don't have to join it if you don't like it. There's
still the board (at least if we choose variant 2).
- Too many mails: Right. But the total net traffic is
probably less unless you read the board only very sparsely.
For sparse access, a WWW accessable mailing list archive
could be set up (there are scripts to do that online, i.e.
the archive is updated immediately when a mail passes the listserv).
- Cluttering the inbox: Many mail user or delivery agents
support sorting your mail. So you can sort mails from the listserv
into a different folder automatically.
- No threading: Use a mail user agent capable of threading,
such as GNUS under Emacs :-) Or set up and use a WWW accessable
mailing list archive with threading capability.
Regards, Felix.