[pct-l] Flame exchanges re annoying posts

[Davy Ray]

This is my first use of a public forum. The list at my
University seems to be less prone to irrelevance.
Perhaps this is becuase we are all colleagues and do
not wish to jeopardize each others respect. On the
PCT-L, lampooning and provocation seem to be the
primary goal for some.

Also, you need credentials to get on the University
list whereas here, anyone with an axe to grind, chip
on their shoulder, and an abundance of spare time can
join the fray. Think I'll just go and hike now.

Davy

--- Dan Hogan <dhhogan at hughes.net> wrote:

> I used the following in an Email list I once
> managed.
>
************************************************************
> 
> The natural life cycle of mailing lists.
> 
> Every list seems to go through the same cycle:
> 
> 1. Initial enthusiasm (people introduce themselves,
> and
> gush a lot about how wonderful it is to find kindred
> souls).
> 
> 2. Evangelism (people moan about how few folks are
> posting
> to the list, and brainstorm recruitment strategies).
> 
> 3. Growth (more and more people join, more and more
> lengthy
> threads develop, occasional off-topic threads pop
> up).
> 
> 4. Community (lots of threads, some more relevant
> than
> others; lots of information and advice is exchanged;
> experts help other experts as well as less
> experienced
> colleagues; friendships develop; people tease each
> other;
> newcomers are welcomed with generosity and patience;
> everyone -- newbie and expert alike -- feels
> comfortable
> asking questions, suggesting answers, and sharing
> opinions).
> 
> 5. Discomfort with diversity (the number of messages
> increases dramatically; not every thread is
> fascinating to
> every reader; people start complaining about the
> signal-to-noise ratio; person 1 threatens to quit if
> *other* people don't limit discussion to person 1's
> pet
> topic; person 2 agrees with person 1; person 3 tells
> 1 & 2
> to lighten up; more bandwidth is wasted complaining
> about
> off-topic threads than is used for the threads
> themselves;
> everyone gets annoyed).
> 
> 6. a. Smug complacency and stagnation (the purists
> flame
> everyone who asks an 'old' question or responds with
> humor
> to a serious post; newbies are rebuffed; traffic
> drops to a
> doze-producing level of a few minor issues; all
> interesting
> discussions happen by private email and are limited
> to a
> few participants; the purists spend lots of time
> self-righteously congratulating each other on
> keeping
> off-topic threads off the list).
> 
>                       -OR-
> 
> b. Maturity (a few people quit in a huff; the rest
> of the
> participants stay near stage 4, with stage 5 popping
> up
> briefly every few weeks; many people wear out their
> second
> or third 'delete' key, but the list lives
> contentedly ever
> after).
> 
>                             ~~~
> 
> This text was pulled from the archives of the
> list-managers
> discussion list and reproduced in full here (the
> author is
> unknown).
> 
> Dan Hogan 
> 
> 
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