2009/5/12 Danielle Marie <[log in to unmask]>
> [...]
> Sam,
>
> "Perhaps, indeed. But does it really matter?"
>
> Yes, it apparently does really matter- hence the heated discussion that has
> been unleashed.
It seems to me that those who would ask Gerard to stop may not be au fait
with the filtering technologies their email clients provide them with.
There's a distribution of responsibility here, and I believe there is an
onus on list subscribers to be competent to filter the content to which they
have subscribed, or else to unsubscribe. Obviously, the former is better,
because that way people learn something and don't feel obliged to throw out
the baby with what they perceive as the bathwater.
> Joining lists that have a high number of ILL/ document
> request emails is not appealing (to me) because ILLs are spam to me.
ILL = Inter-library loan? I'm sorry, I don't see the relevance of
inter-library loans to the discussion about Gerard's posts to the list.
> I
> prefer to have a low volume list like Ukeig and I think you have sensed the
> problem caused by a prolific user in this context-people do not want to
> receive 50% of the list from one person as it isn't terribly varied and
> tends to be dominated by one topic. Or at least I do not.
I'd argue that the obvious solution to the problem is to either report the
user for violating T&C, if you believe he is, or else to filter that user's
posts.
> I also tend not to
> want to do a lot of filtering as I have a I do not want to miss the
> important remaining stuff.
I'm afraid I don't see how filtering out Gerard's posts would cause you to
miss *any* other emails, unless your email client is not fit for purpose.
> The typical way of checking up on the blogs I like to read is by RSS feeds
> or by just good old fashioned bookmarking or (less old fashioned)
> StumbleUpon-that way absolutely nothing goes into my email inbox.
> Beautiful.
The approach you typically choose for consuming electronic information may
not be the approach that others typically choose for consuming the same
information. Among the joys of the internet are its heterogeneity and
flexibility. As Sam Ruby says <http://intertwingly.net/blog/>, "It's just
data" - and I'd argue, it's up to each person to choose how he or she wishes
to consume or avoid that data.
My own preference is to pipe as many of the feeds I like as possible into my
inbox, and filter there. If your own preference is different, so be it, but
please don't presume your preference is universal: clearly, it is not.
Regards,
Sam
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