recent ADMIN issues

1. Kathy Guest suggested maintaining a separate list for more "social"
postings. I don't think this is necessary. This list has a very liberal
policy regarding conversation not directly related to irises. As long
as the postings are properly labeled so they can be deleted by those
who aren't interested, I think we benefit from a certain amount of
friendly conversation, and I wouldn't want to see it leave the list.
The only caveat is that the chit-chat should not overwhelm the iris
talk--and I don't think it ever has...not for more than a day or so at
least.

I'm not a policeman. I'd rather just sit back and watch this list
take care of itself. This recent fuss came up *not* because someone
had inadventently posted something off-topic or mislabeled. That kind
of thing I expect to happen, and I think it's wasted effort to try to
correct every minor transgression. The problem I had was with the
attitude that there is no need to even *try* to show some respect
for the list policies. I just can't condone this. We all have the
policies to read when we join the list, and it's just not fair for
one person to decide they will not try in good faith to observe the
same conventions and courtesies the rest of us agree to.

It's my practice to handle all this kind of thing off-list to
the maximum extent possible. I apologize for the fact that what
should have been a private matter ended up back on the list;
that was not my preference.

This list has basically been running smoothly, and we seem to have
a good collective sense about keeping on track and still enjoying
ourselves along the way. I appreciate the fact that the more serious-
minded people are willing to skip over the chatty stuff without
often complaining, and I appreciate the fact that the more socially
oriented ones show enough courtesy to curtail some of the less
relevant threads or take them off-list. I think we're keeping a good
balance, and I have not received many complaints in recent months.

I regard the recent problem as an anomaly, not a symptom of any
problem with the list that needs fixing.

2. Signatures. The list policies in the welcome message encourage
everyone to sign their messages with their full name and email
address, as a bare minimum. Many have not been doing this, but it
is very important. Not everyone knows who you are or has access to
your email address after your message passes through the list. So
if you don't sign your messages fully, it's like sending someone
anonymous mail. That would be considered rude in a postal letter or
a phone call, and it's rude with email too!

Adding some information about where you live and what your climate
is like is a great idea! Please make an effort to provide some
such information, escpecially if your posting is on a climate-
dependent subject, such as rebloom or varietal performance. If you
haven't yet got around to learning how to set up a signature file,
this is a good opportunity! It's a convenience you will appreciate.

3. A Little Philosophy. One of the great things about email is its
spontaneity. It's really fun to be able to talk with people from
all over the world almost as though they were right there in the
room with you. I don't have many strict rules for this list because
I don't want to interfere with that spontaneity. Yet in some respects
the spontaneity is deceiving: When was the last time you spoke to
an audience of 200 people and had your every word--including errors,
personal asides, and lapses of good judgment--dutifully transcribed
and published for the world to read? Well, that is what happens when
you participate in an internet mailing list. Common sense (and the
accumulated wisdom of those who have been using the internet for
a number of years) demands that a certain special kind of etiquette be
observed. As the listowner, one of my duties is to maintain a certain
level of awareness regarding "netiquette", as it is called. I try
to do this gently and without causing embarrassment or controversy,
but I may not always succeed. It's the most difficult part of this
job, and I do not enjoy it at all! I'm very grateful for those of you
who are supportive and make it easier for me by not reacting personally
or defensively when I feel I must make some suggestion or reminder for
the good of the list.

Now back to fun.

Best regards,

Tom.



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Tom Tadfor Little         tlittle@lanl.gov  -or-  telp@Rt66.com
technical writer/editor   Los Alamos National Laboratory
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Telperion Productions     http://www.rt66.com/~telp/
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