On Sun, 13 Apr 1997 12:17:05 -0600 Dan Lester <[log in to unmask]> said:
>This is hardly any different from the folks who fly on planes, read the
>paper, etc. Most don't care whether it is a 727 or 737,
Actually, as a former frequent flyer I can assure you that people who fly
regularly do care (although of course being able to get a reservation on
the right day usually takes precedence). To look at just one variable,
there are major noise level differences between, say, a 747 and a 767, an
A300 and an A320, etc. Then there are jets vs propeller planes (I will
not fly propeller unless there is no jet within 24h), there are routes
which are guaranteed to be 100% packed with families whose kids are sure
to get unbearably anxious after 3 hours and not find the thought that
there are only 5 hours left very soothing, there are airlines where you
will be packed to a point where you will have to put your legs to the
side because there won't be enough space for them in front of you, and
the nice stewart will ask you to please not put your legs to the side
like this because they get in the way of the cart, gee why don't they
give complimentary leg sawing kits, do they really expect people to bring
their own? Frequent flyers actively seek out the planes where you can
hear yourself talking to the colleague sitting next to you and the
airlines where you will be flying comfortably (which is not a universal
rating but varies from one route to another). At the office, colleagues
will tell you "Don't fly XYZ on a Saturday on this route, they use a
DC9", or "Avoid Tuesday, they sell half of the plane to a charter company
and the kids run around the plane while the parents get drunk on the free
Champagne". People who fly once every other year have no idea which
planes or routes are preferable and consequently do not care. I guess you
could say this about casual users in just about any industry. Likewise,
locals in NYC actively seek out the cabs which are likely to have air
conditioning whereas tourists just grab the first cab they can after
noting how rude the locals were and how little respect they had for
people who had actually arrived before ;-) I doubt there is any
difference with mailing lists. Educated users are willing to pay extra
for better software, otherwise we would have gone bankrupt, whereas
people who have only ever been on one mailing list probably just assume
this is the way it is. Also, you should not forget that most traditional
mailing lists are operated for free. The university ran the list for free
on software X and now they are running it for free on software Y. Unless
you're affiliated with the university, you don't really have much of a
say, or much room for complaining. At the rate at which universities are
sponsoring new lists nowadays, you probably figure it's best to keep a
low-profile so that nobody realizes that your list is not directly
related to the university's charter and needs to be removed :-)
Eric
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