[Cz-L] Listserv v blog

Dear Jerome

Thanks for your interest in my idea and the response.

I take it when you mention researchers you mean people interested in
family histories (like me) rather than academic researchers. That
means people without much specialist knowledge who are interested in
finding things out and who consequently need some way to find out
what has gone before in the areas they are interested in. I
personally don't find the listserv format particularly helpful, as it
doesn't gather messages together in threads so it is easy to follow
the discussion over several emails, or have an index of previous
material. Perhaps I am missing something.

I take your point that a blog by an individual is controlled by an
individual and the information provided is at the mercy of the
individual. This seems to assume that blogs are somehow only for
trivial usage by individuals who are either exploitative or
exhibitionist. That seems to have a rather pessimistic view of human
nature.

But many blogs have serious aims, especially to share knowledge and
promote discussion of particular topics. They can have several well
informed authors, who moderate in the same way I believe listserv has
moderators, and contribute their own material, on which anyone is
free to comment. So the non-regular contributors would have no
difficulty adding material to a topic they found interesting. It
would be easy to search the archives on the blog for material. I
don't know how to do that on listserv. It's hard for an outsider
like myself to identify who the regular contributors are, or to know
how many other people are on the list. It was interesting to know
the statistics you provided.

Now that blogs have RSS and email subscriptions, information comes
automatically to anyone who wants it too, so once it is on the blog,
it too is a push technology. Neither of these is harder to set up
than the listserv subscription. So I don't think your point on this
is valid.

Let's see what other people think.

Best regards

Helene






Hi Helen....

Interesting idea... but hard to see what problem we would be solving
by moving to a blog format.

A blog, is at it's best as an individual bully pulpit for
broadcasting information and opinions of the blogger. Yes, It allows
commentary from others, but at the pleasure of the blogger. A good
outlet for those that have the need to be heard. Not such a good
outlet for distributing information to a group of researchers.

The listserv is basically a peer to peer network where everyone
receives everything, and everyone is equal. It is a 'push' technology
-- that is: you get it without asking for it. You have to do
something to not get it (remove yourself from the list).

The blog is a 'pull' technology -- you need to go there to get it,
each and every time. If you do nothing, you get nothing.

There are over 330 researchers on this list. Probably 15 percent are
regular posters, but yet the others are interested enough in what
goes on not to remove themselves. And, they do occasionally
contribute.
What would happen to that 85% if they had to 'pull' the information?

Best,
jerome



Dr Helene Ryding
UK Mobile: +44 7738116899
Georgia Mobile +995 (8) 95 210 215
Email work: hryding_at_yahoo.co.uk
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Received on 2008-01-12 21:52:34