[Reader-list] On "what ails reader-list"

[Subramanya Sastry]

Kiran and Punam,

I have been watching the exchange with some interest -- and though I meant to
write earlier, I am only getting around to it now.

I am one of the silent members of the list -- though having opted to receive
emails in digest form, am able to quickly decide what to read and what not to.
And, reader-list is one of those few email lists that I pay attention to.

Having said that, I am not sure I understand the reasons that has led Kiran to
speculate that the list is in a state of collapse.  For one, I have been a
part of this list for about a year, I do not know what the original
intentions/expectations were for setting up this list, and how the email
exchanges on this list measure up to those expectations.  Despite all that, I
feel it sounds somewhat sensationalist to indicate that the list is crumbling.

But, I have never seen the reader-list as a "community" -- only perhaps in a
very loose sense could that term apply to a mailing list.  The term is also a
somewhat abused term, and it perhaps helps to clarify what one means when one
talks of "community" in the online world.  Yet, going beyond that, where there
is an already existing "community" in the flesh-and-blood world, a mailing
list could potentially be a useful tool in sustaining that community (for
example, a group of friends, a group of outgoing graduates perhaps, etc.).

But I think it would be too much to expect a mailing list to build a community
around all members of the mailing list.  Such expectations could be perhaps
somewhat uncharitably described as technological romanticism.  But, that is
not to mean that small sub-communities dont form amongst members of the
mailing list (purely based on what one picks up from people's postings on
various topics).  I have made many a friend (and very good friends at that)
because of a sense of "kinship" that I felt based on reading email posts on
mailing lists that I have been a part of -- but that again is a formation of
sub-communities that is unpredictable/uncontrollable rather than the romantic
notion of making a community of all members of a mailing list.

So, perhaps it is good to clarify the intentions/expectations of what one
means when a reference is made to "community" in the online world.  Or perhaps
better still, what is Sarai looking for when you have instituted "reader-list"
as a mailing list, or if something like that is launched on LiveJournal or one
of the countless "community"-building/sustaining tools that now exist and will
continue to spring forth.  It is those expectations that can be a baseline for
evaluating various tools.  Without clarity at that level, all this will become
a case of peering down the wrong end of the tube.

In any case, there is nothing particularly "wrong" if reader-list crumbles
or dies.  I am sure sub-communities have been made, people have formed
relationships, and friendships have been forged.  Something new can and will
come up in its place ... if done consciously, it requires clarifying intentions
and expectations.

Just on the level of "what aids reader-list", yes, one can make various
observations and I would not have much to contest with Kiran or Punam.
Yes, there is too much email, but, my solution is to opt for a digest
format.  If the discussion on the list ceases to be of interest to me,
I would unsubscribe from it at some point.  But, I also know personally
that I am not one of those who visits journals/blogs or various other
offline forums.  So, a non-email based forum will be the end of participation
as far as I am concerned.  I think individual personalities are a very
important consideration for what forms of communities (online/offline/real/
virtual/mailing-list/forum/livejournal/wiki/blog...) each one of us
participates in.  So, it is equally important to factor this into the
decision/discussion.  And, really speaking, there is no reason why there
can't be a mailing list, a LiveJournal approach, wiki approach ... all to
co-exist (around matters of interest of Sarai) .. each one will attract
its own crowd.

I have rambled long enough for now ... so, I will stop for now ...

Best,
Subbu.