Saturday morning insomnia has allowed me to catch up with the
last 24-48 hours of LstOwn-L traffic ... (Why is it so easy to wake
up early on Saturday and Sunday but so difficult on weekdays?)
This coming week I'll have the honor and pleasure of guest
lecturing a graduate "Computer Communications" class on the Internet,
ListServ, Usenet and related topics. Not having done much guest
lecturing yet, I'm doing some serious prepping this weekend :-)
To this end, the discussion of computer-user-to-novice-ListServ-list-owner
transition and of interaction between users and technical support folks
has been quite timely. And as LstOwn-L coordinator, it's served as a
useful (and possiibly overdue) reminder to me to be mindful of how I
deal with public and private inquiries, and to remember that no matter
how much I still feel like a novice, it wasn't so very long ago that I
knew even less than I do today. (A pretty scary thought :-)
The gist of my comments on ListServ this coming Wednesday will be
that it has literally revolutionized global electronic communication.
Often (if poorly) imitated but never duplicated, ListServ has brought
true human level interactivity to the global village. Under Eric
Thomas' stewardship and through his impressive technical skill and
responsiveness to user needs and desires, ListServ has continually
grown in both functionality and user friendliness.
Because life is often unfair, talented, involved, net-visible folks
like Eric often are rewarded less with the praise their work deserves than
with complaints and demands for more. Despite this, Eric keeps plugging
away, constantly improving the product and addressing endless questions on
several lists (LstSrv-L, LstSrv-M and, luckily for us, LstOwn-L -- these
are just the lists that come to mind at the moment).
To my mind, ListServ is a work of art: it lives, breathes and changes
our lives for the better, individually and collectively. Apart from his
postings on this list and LstSrv-L, and a handful of very helpful, pleasant
private e-mail communications, I do not know Eric Thomas, but I consider
him a serious and talented artist, and I very much appreciate his continuing
presence and participation on LstOwn-L. (Having asked him more than my share
of ill-considered or less-than-fully-thought-through questions, I also
appreciate the patience he has shown me.)
Regarding suggestions for a 'junior LstOwn-L,' it strikes me that
(a) most basic questions posted to LstOwn-L get answered fairly quickly and
well and don't seem to be resented by anyone on this list (in fact, we seem
to collectively be a pretty friendly lot, anxious to be helpful to one
another), (b) informal individual mentoring through private e-mail may be
the most effective and efficient means of assisting our newest colleagues,
and (c) creation of a 'junior LstOwn-L' list might dilute the resource we
already have by denying the 'junior LstOwn-L' subscribers of the experience
represented by longer-term LstOwn-L subscribers *and* by denying those
longer-term LstOwn-L subscribers of the fresh insights provided through
apparently 'naive' questions about how ListServ and list ownership work.
It seems to me one list for all ListServ list owners should be able to
suffice -- especially if the service offered by the existing list is
enhanced to meet changing and growing needs (through offering more FAQ --
Frequently Asked Questions -- files for individual retrieval from the
LstOwn-L Filelist, facilitating the informal mentoring desired by several
subscribers, etc). I'm very willing to make whatever changes and
improvements LstOwn-L subscribers feel would assist and enhance their
activities as list owners, and I would hope we can accomplish this under
one roof where we can all learn from each other, rather than segregating
ourselves according to what are bound to be subjective judgments regarding
our own levels of expertise.
Your LstOwn-L list coordinator,
John B Harlan
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