caut-digest V2001 (CAUT spills his guts)

[Jeff Tanner]

I have to concur with Mary on why I don't subscribe to the Pianotech list.
I received it for a while, but found I couldn't get much work done.  We're
only paid to be here a certain number of hours per week (here, it's 37.5).
Anything over that, and you're working for free.  It's not that we're any
busier than anyone else.  But we do need to utilize that time wisely,
especially when you're 1 against 127 with awful climate control.  Those
guys on the pianotech list post all weekend and into all hours of the
night.  That's when I "get a life".  Going through 87 emails on Monday
morning doesn't seem to me to be a wise use of time, as it can take well
into the afternoon.  Even daily, there could sometimes be as many as 30 or
40 posts by the time you get to work.

Also, the Pianotech list seemed to have an amount of unnecessary bickering.
A majority of the posts were not necessarily related to what I need to be
focusing on.  Reading the same old "VTD vs aural" argument over and over
got monotonous.  After a while, you get the picture.  I was involved in one
thread concerning the accuracy of tuning forks and some people got all bent
out of shape over the subject.  There were strongly opposing opinions.  It
almost got ugly, and I didn't really feel any better informed than before.

I don't mean to be critical of the Pianotech list.  A lot of very helpful
information is passed out on it.  I just don't have time while at work to
sift through it all to find it.  And unfortunately, we miss important
threads like the one we're discussing because of that.

By the way, thanks for copying Mike's post to the CAUT list.  I found that
to be extremely interesting, and I may include some of Mike's points in my
research I'm submitting to my Dean regarding salary and workload.  I'll
check the pianotech archives to find the rest of the thread.

Regards,
Jeff

>Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 07:14:45 -0500
>From: David Skolnik <skolnik@attglobal.net>
>Subject: Re: caut-digest V2001 #45 (CAUT spills his guts)
>
>Mary,
>
>With regard to the reading or non-reading of the pianotech list, I did not
>mean to sound critical.  It truly is an incredible flow of information.
>Some valuable, some less so.  Your response though, perhaps in its
>succinctness, seemed dismissive...as though the people who communicate
>there do not work.  In truth, maybe some of them are not as busy as you.  I
>suspect some are simply more adept at the writing / editing process,  but
>to dismiss it for having too much information seems shortsighted.
>
>Best wishes
>
>David Skolnik
>Columbia University
>New York, NY
>
>
>At 08:38 PM 03/27/2001 -0700, you wrote:
>>I don't read Pianotech because it's too much information. I've got work to
>>do!

Jeff Tanner, Piano Technician
School of Music
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
(803)-777-4392 (phone)