>I would think that trying to reduce the overall volume of messages by
>introducing delays in the appearance of messages would not be effective.
 
This has not been my experience with the SAFETY list. We have 50
message/day as the limit. We get between 40 and 50 pretty consistently. My
sense is that if we went to 75, we would get 75.
 
>  People will soon
>realize this and the volume will drop until it reaches a steady state with a
>relatively constant backlog.
 
This has been my experience...although the backlog is not constant. People
soon develop a sense of traffic flow and busy vs. non-busy days. After
about 6 months of public discussion of traffic flow problems, the only
thing that sends us over the daily limit is a flame war or an offer of
something for free. ;)
 
> But the delays will change the nature of the
>discussion dramatically--in ways that are hard to predict.
 
Again, not my sense with the SAFETY list. Repetitive answers happen as
often on days when the list isn't stopped as when it is; otherwise
discussion goes forward briskly, and people show a high awareness of the
value of conserving the message count. Peter's suggestions about offering
other options are valuable as well, although TOPICS seems overly optimistic
to me for an unmoderated list.
 
Ralph Stuart
Chemical Safety Coordinator
University of Vermont
655 Spear St.
Burlington, VT   05405
 
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fax: (802)656-5407
 
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