Re: Why I like this list but not OT
My opinion on what Dick wrote below:
1. I read the digest, so by the time I get it topics are often not relevant.
Good reason not to post.
2. The list is currently so high traffic that I ask myself "is my
comment really adding anything to the current discussion", before
deciding to post anything, especially when it is beginning to veer off
topic.
Good reason not to post.
3. I wonder whether you are saying that as a regular contributor you
have more "rights" to decide what you can post even if it is not quite
relevant to the list, than someone who does not "contribute" so much.
Certainly not. I try my best to follow list rules and to post only when I have something I think advances the discussion (admittedly I don't always succeed in that department).
All email lists have people who talk more, and those who talk less. If
all 5000 members were to write with an equal frequency imagine what
list traffic would be like.
Agreed. I don't think lurkers have fewer rights than posters. My question was whether their presence or absence matters. The best answers so far are that (1) they do sometimes pop up with a valuable answer to an obscure question and (2) their numbers help justify the prices Eric charges advertisers to support the list infrastructure.
My more specific question was whether dramatic threats to quit have any effect when they come from people we've never or rarely heard from before. They certainly have value to the poster in terms of self-expression. I contend they don't serve any purpose for the rest of us, though. My opinion only. Yours may differ.
4. Someone suggested having an OT list, I think that most people
cannot justify belonging to a list that is officialy declared as not
being about technical writing, if they read it during their working
hours.
I don't think you're in a position to judge what "most people" can justify. Neither am I. OT lists exist and are supported. Whether this one would or not is something that can be tested but not necessarily predicted.
Dick
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