OT:The lris Lists
- To: i*@onelist.com
- Subject: OT:The lris Lists
- From: <H*@aol.com>
- Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 15:21:41 EDT
From: <Henryanner@aol.com>
Greetings,
Against my better judgement I am going to offer some thoughts on the demise of
Iris-l and the rise of Iris-talk.
As I understood him, several factors entered into Tom's decision to pull the
plug on Iris-l. One was the receiving the information that running the list
would cost seventy-five dollars a month rather than ten dollars, which would
be a serious consideration for many of us. I'd have pulled the plug, too, and
suggested where Rt66 might put it. And then there was some understandable
exasperation and fatigue arising from the demands of maintaining a large
mailing list, particularly one going through a time of prolonged listserver
disfunction.
Iris-talk was initially presented as an interim solution to enable
conversation to continue without overburdening anyone with the duty of acting
as manual listserve. For one reason and another some people are not
comfortable or wholly comfortable with this venue. There is a good deal of
daunting boilerplate that must be agreed to to sign on, and it seems to be a
more public and more commercial forum than we are accustomed to. Thus some
have joined with reservations, and only after the demise of the Iris-l was
announced by the list owner.
It is important, I think, to bear in mind that these lists are virtual
communities and most of us know each other on a relatively superficial level.
Thus, while some among us may have strong feelings about efficiency, or
patience, or communication, or loyalty, or compromise, or even about change, I
believe that, in the last analysis, all we can be said to actually 'owe' each
other is courtesy.
I do not think the Iris-l group would have disintegrated while waiting for
service if the second list had not arisen. But neither do I think that there
is anything inherently wrong with the second list serving anyone who is
comfortable with it. As I recall, Iris-l had grown to well over three hundred
members and new ones were joining constantly. I think two iris lists could
thrive. Nor would folks have to choose between them. Some other genera support
several lists.
Because I believe that the the Iris-l was successful, and well and
unobtrusively managed, I would like to see it restored to those who are more
comfortable with it. The seventy-five dollar fee sounds like it might be
waivable. But whether Tom, who provided us for so long with such a classy
venue for the exchange of ideas and has thus every reason to be weary, will
take the helm, fire the engines, and send out an ADMIN to the effect that
Iris-l is up and running again, is for him alone to decide. In any case, my
husband and I remain very grateful to him.
Anner Whitehead
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