medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
From: George FERZOCO <[log in to unmask]>
> Thanks, John. You're right about generally getting only academics to
participate in an academic list; the term 'generally' is key here. I
had the possibility of setting up the list as one for people who
could be verified as being 'academics', but given that neither I nor
those who help in running the list would have the time to vet
applications, to decide on what precisely makes one an 'academic' and
to check credentials, it was decided to leave membership wide open,
and to trust in people acting professionally and responsibly.
why a non-academic would join a list which discusses the minutiae of an
already rather rarified subject is beyond me.
unless, of course, the fellow was actually interested in the minutiae of an
already rather rarified subjet.
there's no Accounting for Taste, i suppose.
why anyone starting such a list would feel that it was a productive use of
their time to vet potential members as to their "academic" standing raises the
question of whether or not that person should think seriously about Getting a
Life.
> On 25 May 2007, at 09:57, John Briggs wrote:
>> George FERZOCO wrote:
>>> I do take Christopher's point here: the content -- and, more importantly,
the good will of the members -- of a list is what makes it useful. Jiscmail
provides a very useful and much appreciated service, but it is by definition
limited to being 'owned' (I ***hate*** this term, but it's mumbo-speak, like
the verb 'to action') by someone affiliated to a UK institution of higher
learning, and there are restrictions on the nature of such lists (e.g., must
be academic and serious and all that stuff, in order to serve the requirements
of the friendly British taxpayers who fund the service).
>> I disagree - the participants are actually more important than the content,
in the sense that they are a pre-requisite. And you will generally only get
academics to participate in an academic list. I am no fan of JISC, JISCMail,
the way it is structured, and its pretty awful software, but see these things
as necessary evils. I am even less of a fan of commercial organisations like
Yahoo, and their groups with web interfaces. It is is no use setting up a
yahoogroup if those with a real knowledge of the subject don't participate in
it.
> > John Briggs
JISCMail, having served a useful purpose early on in the creation of the
Infermacion Suberhi-way on The Innernets by offering a venue for the creation
of Akademical discussion lists at a time when such venues were quite scarce on
the ground, has outlived its usefulness to the extent that it, in any way,
influences the composition of the membership of the list --to say nothing of
the content of what is discussed (as it has done for this list, via The
Misguided --albeit Well-Meaning-- ListMommies, from time to time).
i fail to see the difference in the distinction which John is wishing to make:
the participants *are* the content, on any list, no matter whether it is
Akademical or not.
what is meant by "commercial organisations like Yahoo, and their groups with
web interfaces" also has me stumped.
yes, Yahoo (egroups.com) does have a "web interface" which is used to create
and manage lists, archive list postings, recruit list members, etc.
as does Http://JiscMail.ac.uk, but posting is not done through that site on
Yahoo any more than on JiscMail.
whether or not "those with a real knowledge of the subject" "participate in
it" or not is a function of it's presence (availability) on the web, combined
with Word of Mouth propogation of the knowledge of the list's existence.
e.g., if one does a search for groups concerning "Chartres" on egroups.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=chartres
one gets 15 hits, representing all sorts of interests, from "historical
re-inactors" (who, while generally not "Akademic", are frequently rather
serious dillatantes):
MiddleWatersGroup
159 Members, Archives: Membership required
THE MIDDLE WATERS LIVING HISTORY GROUP exists to meet some of our needs for
sharing information, contacts, research, events, ride-sharing and all the
things that we have come to realize we need badly but are sadly lacking, as a
larger community, at present. There are a number of reenactors in the Midwest
that NEED to communicate, to better attendance at events, to improve our
personas, to learn from one another, to share contacts and resources. We can
talk firearms, cooking, clothing, ...(more)
to the Marginally Bizarre (and, perhaps, Kinky):
normankillergirls (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/normankillergirls/)
18 Members, Archives: Membership required
Norman Killer Girls "Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman:
Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. Upper Normandy
(Haute-Normandie) consists of the French départements of Seine-Maritime and
Eure, and Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) of the départements of Orne,
Calvados, and Manche. "She married Stephen Henry, son and heir to the count of
Blois, sometime between 1080 and 1084, probably in 1083. Stephen inherited
Blois, Chartres and Meaux in 1089, and owned over 300 ...(more)
(i'll bet that not everyone on this list knows that "Normandy" is English for
"Normaundie")
to the pretentiously serious:
Centrechartraine (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Centrechartraine/)
30 Members, Archives: Membership required
An unmoderated scholarly discussion group centered around the History of
Chartres, the Town, its Cathedral, and Region, in conjunction with the website
devoted to this subject, http://ariadne.org/centrechartraine. Any subject
concerning Chartres will be fair game, but the emphesis should be on the
medieval period and the tenor scholarly.
Different Folks preferring Different Strokes, while anyone on the planet with
access to the net *can* request of the ListMommies of any of these to be
signed up as a member, in actual practice the number of requests comming into,
say, the last list is quite small, one or two a year, over the seven years of
its existence.
most of these "walk-ins" have been more or less flakey Re-enactors and SCA or
Labyrinthine types who, when it is explained to them what the true purpose and
nature of the list is, decline to join for reasons of their own --though, en
principe, all are welcome.
the list has grown from an original 5 to more than 25, mostly through
recommendations/invitations from existing list members. several members of
the list --all of them Akademic-- have found its informality to be not to
their liking and have quit the list, No Blame.
it's a pretty nice little list, even though it's not hosted by JISCMail, and
even though some of its members --most prominently its ListMommie and a
fanatastic photograher based near Chartres-- have no Akademical affiliation
whatever at present (or ever).
there have been, over the years, some very interesting discussions about a
range of topics --virtually all Chartrain in nature-- a great deal of
information has been passed around, and several friendships (some of an
intercontinental nature) have been made or sealed.
all of the above being the true purpose of suchlike lists, in the first place.
c
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