From: EdGrenda@aol.com
Date: Mon Jul 02 2007 - 21:12:42 EEST
Hi Folks:
Thanks to all who've responded. I hope the discussion eventually results
in a reasonable consensus on what to do. I'm very happy to hear that Hannu is
possibly going to continue to be involved and that he has found possibilities
that might offer continuity and stability. The idea of the SME, GARPA or a
related RP-involved organization hosting the RPML is, I think, probably the
best way to make sure that the discussion remains as open as possible.
Thanks to Deeplip and others for suggesting and setting up test Google and
Yahoo Groups, and also the suggestion for FreeLists. I finally had a chance
to look at these this morning. I think they're good secondary possibilities,
but only if nothing simpler can be worked out. Also, porting more than a
decade of archives to such services might be very difficult or require a lot
of effort.
The mailing list format is preferable, and a continuation of the RPML that
doesn't require members to opt-in (again) by creating individual accounts, as
seems the case with Yahoo and Google, is also highly desirable.
The majority of members never post, but they do seem to listen. The mailing
list format lets them do that without effort. It also fosters the
possibility that they will post in the future if the discussion piques their interest
enough to overcome their shyness. Requiring readers to exert conscious
effort such as going to a web page periodically to participate, or asking them to
sign up - even if trivial - will almost assuredly result in decimation of the
group.
The limited and possibly declining membership of the RPML is extremely
valuable to hang on to. We should try to make it grow and encourage greater
participation. That can best be done by remaining on-topic and posting some good
stuff, avoiding nasty responses and sniping, and making sure we don't repeat
the mistakes of the past.
I didn't support the precipitous attempts in the past to immediately abandon
ship when troubles arose. First, none of the attempts to establish a new
group had ever worked. Second, after years and years of service I think we
owed the list owners and technical gurus more than a little loyalty.
Hannu and Seppo still get 51% of the votes, as far as I'm concerned.
Ed Grenda
Castle Island Co.
_EdGrenda@aol.com_ (mailto:EdGrenda@aol.com) (email)
The Worldwide Guide to Rapid Prototyping
http://home.att.net/~castleisland/
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