[at-l] AT-L Content

[rafeb@adelphia.net (Raphael Bustin)]

At 09:34 AM 3/1/02 -0500, kahley wrote:

>At 07:10 AM 3/1/02 -0500, Raphael Bustin wrote:
>>and let you Rucksters have the place to yourselves.
>
>
>We used to worry about that.  We were concerned that
>the bonding between the "old guard" was off putting to
>the newbees.  But, if you take notice, many of the most
>prolific posters are relative newbees or at least have
>come out of lurkerdom within the last six months.
>At the same time, many old timers have slipped into
>lurkerdom.
>AT-L is a living breathing thing...the players may change
>but the spirit survives and the community thrives.  I am
>a member of other groups and there is always a period
>when you are the newbee and feel uncomfortable and
>out of the loop, especially considering standing jokes
>and group specific lingo.  It passes.
>I think the people who become dis-satisfied are the
>ones that for whatever reason want instant info.....
>Maybe they think they will find a continuing scroll of all
>the best gear/hostels/maildrops/food
>all condensed..just add water.  Instead they find they have
>to either wait for someone else to ask a question or do
>so themselves and then they will have to read different
>suggestions and evaluate the worthiness of each.
>Like anything worth while, it takes some effort.


All good points, kahley.  List dynamics are fascinating
sometimes.   I find that the best ones have list-masters
who don't interfere too much, and just let the list self-
regulate.  There are always folks ready and willing to
"police" for relevancy, and will let us know when we're
too far off track.

Old-timers come and go, on all lists.  The same threads
can seem annoying after you've seen them reappear,
year after year.  Even if they were interesting the first
few times around... <g>

I'm sometimes annoyed when newbies ask "dumb" questions
or expect (nay, demand) hard, factual answers to their
questions.  First off, I don't see a list as a substitute for
good-old fashioned research, on the net or off.  Rather,
it's a place to get opinions from experts and old-hands --
exactly the sort of thing you won't find in the public library
or in the publications available from the ATC or ALDHA.

The danger is that the old hands get tired answering the
same "dumb" questions again again, and will drift away
from the list.

When I was planning my '90 hike, I didn't have the benefit
of the Internet or a listserv.  I got my info the old-fashioned
way, from the ATC store, Rodale Press, Colin Fletcher,
the public library, etc. etc.

One thing that's upsetting and unsettling to me is name-
calling and badmouthing, and flagrant insults.  No "family"
should put up with that.


rafe b.
aka terrapin