----- Original Message -----
From: "Pete" <maydayrevolution@xxxxxxx>
To: "The WOW Mailing List" <List@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 7:21 PM
Subject: [wow] BB Forum vs Mailing List Vote?
It has been suggested that now that both a Mailing List and a BB Forum
are available, and both being integrated with the Mail2Forum system, we
should now have a vote:
1) Yes, we should procceed with both a Mailing List and a BB Forum
integrated with the Mail2Forum system.
2) Yes, we should procceed with both a Mailing List and a BB Forum, but
not integrated with the Mail2Forum system.
3) No, we should procceed with just the Mailing List, and dump the BB Forum.
4) No, we should proceed with just the BB Forum, and dump the Mailing
List and Archive.
5) Dump both!!
My vote is for # 1
Pete
My vote is for # 3
Here's why:
I am a moderator or assistant moderator on a number of discussion lists that
are either (1) custom made, (2) at Yahoo! Groups, or (3) on bulletin boards, so
I have experience with them all. Below I will use some examples:
I am the Assistant Listmaster for the Healthfraud Discussion List -
http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/discuss.html - which has over 400
members, with 30-60 messages per day, and multiple threads. It is hosted on a
special system designed exclusively for it. It isn't hosted at Yahoo! Groups,
although I would prefer that to be the case.
It functions just fine as an email list, with possibilities for receiving it in
digest form, or only using the available on-line archives:
http://www.ssr.com/
http://www.ssr.com/cgi-bin/ezmlm-cgi/1#b
It's an incredibly rich source of information and knowledge.
I am also a Global Moderator on these two bulletin boards:
Chirotalk - http://chirotalk.proboards3.com/index.cgi
Physiotalk - http://physiotalk.ca/index.php?act=idx
They are a pain in the ass, as far as keeping up with what's going on. Even I,
as a Global Moderator, have to use (waste) significant time each day to make
sure I don't miss a thread, and then I have to mark each one individually in
order to track that topic. (A couple days away from my PC, or a vacation, is
disastrous. It takes many days to get back on track. During that time the
discussion can get bombed by trolls, or otherwise get sidetracked.) Then I can
follow each of those threads from my email box, which places me back at my
starting point, my email, which *everyone* has. Even then I can't respond by
email, but have to be on-line and logged-in, and find the particular thread. It
is a real disadvantage to have too many subforums!
The only advantage (which isn't better than my email system) is the way that
threads can be organized *visually*. I can do that using my own email archive
system, if I care to do so. I don't do it, since I can sort messages according
to thread, as well as search all messages and threads at any time for anything
(topic or person). I can't do that very easily, if at all, on a bulletin board.
Discussion groups hosted on Yahoo! Groups (or other similar systems), have
archiving systems, as well as uploading systems for files, documents, picture
albums, etc. They can also be searched by topic and individuals posting. They
also have digest features, and can be utilized on-line or from one's own PC at
home, using ordinary email, which *everyone* has.
I see the use of a bulletin board as a waste of time, with no significant
advantages over an email discussion list. I would suggest using Yahoo! Groups,
which has good features, and is easy to use and customize.
Regards,
Paul Lee
Anti-Quackery Ring - http://g.webring.com/hub?ring=antiquackerysite
Skeptic Ring - http://l.webring.com/hub?ring=skeptic
The Quack-Files - http://www.quackfiles.com
--- Google: "The Quack-Files" - http://tinyurl.com/c0j6
Confessions of a Quackbuster - http://www.quackfiles.blogspot.com/
The Saul Green Files - http://saulgreen.blogspot.com/
ChiroLinks - http://chirolinks.quackfiles.com
Chiropractic Index -
http://quackfiles.blogspot.com/2006/12/chiropractic-index-to-all-entries-here.html
Eva Cassidy: Legendary Singer - http://evacassidy.blogspot.com/
The Art of Elfred Lee - http://www.geocities.com/elfred_lee/
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