open list?

[David ilvedson]

Bravo!  

David ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA



> Date:          Mon, 26 Oct 1998 16:03:36 -0500 (EST)
> From:          "Steven D. Majewski" <sdm7g@virginia.edu>
> To:            pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject:       Re:  open list?
> Reply-to:      pianotech@ptg.org

> 
> On Mon, 26 Oct 1998 A440A@aol.com wrote:
> 
> 
> >    You are correct in saying that an outsider's(non-tech) view shouldn't be
> > that much of a bother, that is not the problem.  
> >    The problem is an extra 100 or more letters a week from people seeking
> > advice.  I do that for money here,  I am certainly not going to seek places to
> > do it for free. 
> 
> [...]
> 
> >         	There have been an alarming number of really top-flight techs, with
> > years of experience, that have left this forum because of the excess, non-
> > technical, posts.  I question whether the "hospitality" is worth it 
> 
>  As one of the non-techs who lurks on this list, I have to speak up
> and say that most of the non-techs seem to do mostly that -- lurk,
> listen, and try to learn something. 
> 
>  The overwhelming majority of non-technical posts are from the piano
> technicians. That's true even if you stretch "technical" to include 
> piano-tech _business_ related posts as well as all of the "what's 
> the strangest think you ever found in a piano" threads, and comments
> on the general state of classical music and performance today. 
> 
>  I know that I'm a "guest" in this forum, so I wouldn't think of 
> posting computer virus warnings, telling you about the banjo concert
> ( Bela Fleck and the Flectones ) I went to last week, arguing about
> Macs vs. PCs or insulting folks who have different views on historical
> temperments than I do. Are you sure it wasn't some of *that* traffic,
> rather than the comparative handful of "I've got this old piano and I
> was wondering... " posts that drove some of those folks off the list ? 
> 
>  I'm not complaining about those non-technical posts. I happen to love
> hearing all of the crazy customer stories, and I just tune out whenever
> one tech started calling another a Nazi. You have the right to define
> this forum to be whatever you wish. Also note that, it is typical of
> usenet and internet mailing lists in general, and not of pianotech
> alone, that the meta-discussion of what to do about question from 
> non-tech's has itself generated more volume than any of those questions.
> 
>  If you do decide to keep it an open, unmoderated list, my best advice
> is just to ignore and delete any posts that you think are inappropriate.
> If you don't have a moderator or other authority figure to appeal to,
> all you have is the "marketplace of ideas", and the civility and behavior
> of the "permantent residents" have a lot more to do with how the forum
> functions than does the occasional clueless newbie who wanders in and
> asks a dumb question. None of that means you have to answer thos dumb
> questions. Either someone else who feels more generous that day will do
> it, or no one will -- but you'll avoid 30 or 40 more messages about 
> what to do about those messages.  
> 
> 
> ---|  Steven D. Majewski   (804-982-0831)  <sdm7g@Virginia.EDU>  |---
> ---|  Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics  |---
> ---|  University of Virginia             Health Sciences Center  |---
> ---|  P.O. Box 10011            Charlottesville, VA  22906-0011  |---
> 
> "I'm not as big a fool as I used to be, I'm a smaller fool." - Jack Kerouac
> Some of the Dharma  <http://members.aol.com/kerouacsis/SomeDharma.html>
> 
> 
> 
David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA
ilvey@jps.net