Recent postings about the management of the listserve raise a few points.
We need to ask what the function of the list is. If it is a community resource
what are the limits of community interaction? Serious points were also raised
amongst the jokes on gender: some of which might not have been if the list did
not have a relaxed atmosphere that welcomes contributions from all members. The
Late Arrivals may have been just a laugh (just for the record Michael Russell,
B.A. M.Phil - I was posting in my own time) but nevertheless contributes to
making for a friendly discussion forum. Do we want this to stop in favour of a
more serious format? If it was made more formal would fewer people read it
and post to it?

The objections seemed to stem from the nature of the messages posted rather than
just the number of them - would we have been told off if we'd all been
debating FOI or automated cataloguing systems? If the listserve cannot cope
with around 60 postings in one day is it the correct technology to be using? We
do, of course, appreciate the time and effort spent in maintaining it, but the
answer cannot be to discourage people from posting. Surely this problem can only
worsen as more people join? The number of postings is not huge in the grand
scheme of things and we usually discuss professionally relevant issues, even on
a Friday afternoon, so the "fault" seems to lie with the current implementation
of the technology. Perhaps details of this could be released to the list to see
if we can find a way to maintain the current lively discussion and volume of
activity without causing those administering it to crack up.

At the moment I enjoy reading all the messages and contributing now and then.
Last weeks interesting and witty(?) contributions showed a thriving community
spirit where we can ask questions and swap jokes and one I want to be part of.
I'd like to think taxpayers want their public servants to be imaginative and
humorous as well as productive and knowledgable. Personally, I
can't see myself logging on after work to read a series of earnest questions and
answers (not with thousands of tacky science fiction sites to investigate,
anyway). Perhaps we should turn our considerable brain power and expertise to
solving this problem so we can all enjoy reading and contributing or there's a
danger it will solve itself by fewer people bothering about it.

Thoughts anyone?

Jenny Moran



%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%