[ARSCLIST] ruminations on the ARSClist-was: message board vs. listserv

[David Seubert <seubert@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As of this evening there are 633 subscribers to this list and from my 
discussions with other ARSC members most expect a high signal-to-noise 
ratio (hopefully at least CD quality) from this list. As George B-N 
pointed out, we are approaching or have passed 10,000 posts to this list 
since it was begun back in 1999. That's quite a milestone considering 
we've never had a flamewar or a mass exodus and the number of list 
members grows slowly but steadily.

I'm not speaking for the ARSC Board here, but the Board has discussed 
the pros and cons of message boards vs. listservs for precisely the 
reasons that have been brought up. Since this is a listserv--with the 
faults that come with it--we should all keep in mind that our posts go 
out to all 633 people on this list and that everybody has to hit the 
delete key for every frivolous post and the more often they have to hit 
delete, the less likely they are to stick around and contribute. 
Obviously not all posts can be interesting to everybody but we should 
always try to give some thought as to whether a reply should be on or 
off list and to make sure that something substantive is being added to 
the discussion. We should also keep in mind that the majority of 
subscribers don't post or post infrequently. In my opinion these people 
are also an important part of this forum and we should post with the 
full membership of the list in mind--not just the frequent 
posters--because when they chime in (often offlist) with the answer to 
your question, you are really glad they are on the list.

The beauty of ARSC is the huge variety of interests and specializations 
of the membership but it also means that not everything is of interest 
to everybody. ARSC is the only organization I know of that intentionally 
brings together the archivists/librarians, the scholars, the 
technicians, and the collectors in a given field. When the ARSC Board 
voted to set up this list in Madison in 1998 it was set up with the 
intent to have a forum for ARSC members to exchange information at a 
professional level that was not encumbered with the chit-chat found on 
collectors' lists. I think we've largely succeeded, but it takes effort 
on the part of all subscribers to post intelligently and with restraint 
in order to keep it going.

Lastly, this is the ARSClist, and while it is an open forum, it reflects 
the organization and membership of ARSC. If you aren't a member and have 
found yourself here, please consider joining and participating in the 
broader activities of the organization.

Anyway, I've used more than my share of bandwidth in the last few days, 
so I'll shut up now for a couple of weeks....

David Seubert