Re: [at-l] digest?

[tmcginnis@ucclan.state.in.us (Thomas McGinnis)]

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: [at-l] digest?
Author:  "Christopher Wood" <CHRISW@LANDMARKNET.NET> at ima
Date:    11/9/99 11:18 PM


did i read on someone's post that if you get this list in digest form that you 
are not really a good lister?
     
hoops at97 pct95

***********SloeThatToe steps up with:
     That was probably mine, hoops, where I was juxtaposing one lister's 
     alleged knowledge of and involvement with the at-l against their 
     "digest" subscription status. Not a question of worth, but of 
     involvement; and to be clear, "involvement" in terms of quantity *and* 
     quality. When you are involved with a thread by virtue of having 
     posted to it, you read your own posts and responses to your own posts 
     with more involvement, and you get a better picture of the general 
     demeanor of the persons with which you're inter-posting. The more such 
     dialogue takes place, the less likely one person is to misread the 
     tone of another's post. And in that give and take, learning should 
     take place on everybody's part. Maybeeee even trail related.
     
     The lister in question positioned themselves as knowledgeable of and 
     involved with the at-l. Not only were they not an at-l lister for any 
     period of time, but they were subscribed as digestors, indicating to 
     me that they didn't even *intend* on being involved with the at-l. 
     (Some personal knowledge of that lister also colored my response.)
     
     Digestors generally don't handle the volume of traffic of direct mail 
     messages because of online cost, available time (while at work, 
     even!?!), or simply because of interest. They scan the digests, plow 
     through the dattodumps or felixnotes or the sloetoespewings, and get 
     the good stuff from Cale-EEE or Gimmee or Bethany, and move on.
     
     I subscribe to nine different lists. These include 
     LIST                       VOLUME                  SUBSCRIPTION
     at-l                       medium                  DIRECT
     dead runner's society      high                    digest
     
     and maybe once a week volume from:
     dead runner's mind         very low                digest
     zendead                    very low                digest
     IndyHashHouseHarriers      very low                DIRECT*
     IndyUltimateFrisbie        very low                DIRECT*
     D.A.D.D.S.                 zero!                   DIRECT*
     H.A.T.T.                   very low                DIRECT*
     A.L.D.H.A.                 very low                DIRECT*
                                               *no digest available anyway.
     
     Nine lists! Zioks! Sounds incredible! But the volume from seven of 
     them is de minimus. Of the at-l and dead runner's ("Carpe Viam" == 
     Seize the Road!), I could never handle the volume of the drs, so I 
     digest. I post to the drs perhaps once a week, even though I've hosted 
     more drs'ers at my house than at-l'ers so far. In truth, I can barely 
     handle the at-l right now.....and should have made good on a move to 
     go "digest" back in July. (I still receive the at-l digest, just in 
     case I have to bail!)
     
     To summarize: IMO, digesting is a measure of involvement. I have the 
     time to be "involved" on the at-l, and thoroughly enjoy it, and have 
     made so many FRIENDS come to life just by showing up somewhere and 
     connecting faces to names. Any excuse will do! But in point of fact, 
     that quality of involvement is totally available to digesters, too, or 
     "newcomers" for that matter, just by showing up, to a Ruck or Trail 
     Daze or Gathering or whatever, or by stepping into a hot thread with 
     your own view. Not only are you "worthy", you are "life blood"!
     
     Yeesh! "Groupthink" from the '60s Org Theorists! If this list were to 
     get into a status thing where lurkers/digestors/newcomers did not feel 
     welcome to throw out their thoughts or suggestions or editorial 
     opinions, the list itself would rot from internal decay, and collapse. 
     And deserve to.
     
     Sloetoe
     (an at-l lister for all of one year.)
     
     
     
     
     
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=3>did i read on someone's post that if you get 
this list in digest form that you are not really a good lister?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>hoops at97 pct95</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>