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

[Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

If there is an issue about searching past postings, perhaps there's a somewhat easy solution, if someone on the server
end of this list is willing to do it (and since this is a volunteer/charitable activity, they would be doing it out of
the kindness of their heart and for no other reason). If this list is run off a unix-type server, one could create a
phantom account that gets all the postings and saves them to a directory. One could then have a webpage interface to
search that directory using one of the many free/easy-to-configure search engines out there. At my company's website, we
still use an old perl-based search engine, I think dating from the mid-90's, written by Matt Wright. I think it's been
updated over the years to patch some security holes. It's very easy to configure. As long as the permissions are OK on
the directory/files in question, it will search directory and display a list of files that match the search criteria,
with links to open the files. It can be made more fancy if one has experience with cgi/perl and html authoring.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Fitzgerald" <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 6:17 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] ruminations on the ARSClist-was: message board vs. listserv


> As variously an active member, occasional reader/researcher, and
> owner/editor/moderator, I have dealt with scores, maybe even
> hundreds, of listservs, newsgroups, message boards, and other
> approaches to group communication on the Internet. Although I am not
> the most active member, I am MUCH less likely to participate *at all*
> in an ARSC message board (read: Yet Another Message Board). It's like
> having to stop in somewhere everyday to keep up on the news. Why
> can't the news come to me?
>
> The ability to have automatic emails when new posts are made is even
> worse - redundant and unproductive. Like the damn slip that tells you
> that the postman stopped by and delivered....a slip telling you to
> *go* to the post office to pick up a package. You were *on my
> doorstep* *with the package* - just leave the package instead of the
> note! (and a message board doesn't require a recipient's signature!)
>
> Regarding the list archives on the web - any inconvenience is NOT due
> to the email nature of the list, but rather of the implementation of
> the searchable archives. I have seen excellent implementations of
> searches, and exceedingly poor ones (Yahoo Groups, anyone?). BTW, I
> have never seen an excellent message board search (with a dozen
> boolean terms, filters, etc.), which is not to say that it can't be
> done, just that it doesn't seem to be common.
>
> With an email list, I can create my own archive, accessible to me
> without an Internet connection (and using the phenomenal search
> capability that is built into my personal email program). I can keep
> a record of all of my contributions all in one place (my Outbox). Not
> nearly so easy on a message board and if you are active on many
> message boards it's even more complicated.
>
> Just as I can create my personal archive, organized in the way I
> prefer, every other list member can do the same, keeping a different
> subset of the total messages. And all personal emails, messages from
> my other list memberships, draft notes to myself, etc. can be
> included in my searches.
>
> Message board? Not for me.
>
> Mike
>
> mike at JazzDiscography.com
> http://www.JazzDiscography.com