[pianotech] List changes - it's a lot bigger than just the lists...

[Ron Nossaman]

On 3/9/2011 8:36 PM, Israel Stein wrote:


>And yes there are issues there - but I see
> that Ron Nossaman has gotten out of his "this is crap" mode and started
> asking constructive questions about how it could possibly be made to
> work.

Charming, as always.

In the old format, I've learned valuable things from people I might not 
otherwise read at all from their long record of having nothing much 
interesting or lucid to say. The value of information is not contingent 
on it's source, but on it's validity, and unlikely people know 
interesting things on occasion that I'm grateful to learn. The 
threading, discussion grouping, and other social filtering trends are 
real horizon limiters in my opinion, as very busy people limit their 
exposure to ideas to what they are concerned with at this hour. Next 
week will naturally be different as the crisis hot line turns. Some 
folks are actually interested in and able to learn, change, and adapt to 
what's important to them without being forced into a new and improved 
format that has to be kicked out of the way to get to the process. I 
offered some modified possibilities, which I haven't heard back on, 
incidentally, that would allow the "fogies" all the raw data and 
interactivity necessary to maintain their current and changing state of 
knowledge, and still let the new age pursue their passions. The thing is 
really not that far off from being usable for everyone with some 
changes, if that's an allowable concept. Awaiting enlightenment on that 
one, but I suspect I already know the answer.

I know the old system has burned out the folks that made it work, but it 
still strikes me as curious that the users weren't polled before the 
money was spent and major changes were made. If our preferences don't 
count, why bother to maintain discussion lists at all?

Ron N