Dear LSTOWN-L readers, Discussion about list archives took place earlier this week, and also a couple of months ago (with the subject Editing or deleting messages). Here are some comments based on my experience, both as a list owner for the past two years and in dealing with another list. When I set up the list, a couple of readers kindly helped with testing. As a result, we generated a fair amount of material which was unnecessary and undesirable to retain. So before going public with the list, I deleted the archival files. From time to time, errors have happened in processing messages. Our site administrator kindly fixed the problem, and in so doing he removed the archives and then replaced them. However, as a result it's uncertain whether the archives reflect the complete postings to the list. Also because of these problems, one or two messages got sent repeatedly (shades of the old "Spam" song and Bitnet - anyone out there remember Bitnet?!) and are still in the archives. I don't view this as a problem however. The archives are useful for another purpose: Documenting list subscriber behavior - not just on the list itself, but also elsewhere. The list I edit is DEWEYERROR, and you don't have to be a genius to guess that this list is of highly specialized interest, of concern only to those working with suspected errors in Dewey Decimal Classification numbers found on library books. But one subscriber, the listowner of a different list of much broader scope, had intentions of his own which were at variance with the purpose of DEWEYERROR. I learned about this when a couple of correspondents wrote to advise me that error reports were also appearing on that list. You can even read a version of one of my own messages from DEWEYERROR in the archives of that list, rewritten without my consent and with the (admittedly humorous) pseudonym "Clark Fairy" along with a fictitious e-mail address. Although he eventually desisted from his activities, they are recorded in two messages I posted to advise subscribers to be aware of what he was doing. If anyone wants the specifics, you can search for a couple of posts with subject "Administrative Concerns" in the DEWEYERROR archives, http://listserv.kent.edu/archives/DEWEYERROR.html. In the same context: a message announcing DEWEYERROR is the archives of this other list - but none of the individuals whom I'd asked to keep an eye out for that message received it! The above is a cautionary tale, inasmuch as, whereas list archives can serve as a history of distributed messages, they also can represent something else. With lists, as with democracy, constant vigilance is required. Sincerely - Ian Ian Fairclough Marion (Ohio) Public Library tel. 740-387-0994 x233 [log in to unmask] ___________________________________