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

[Subramanya Sastry]

A quick intervention.

All of what I said nothwithstanding, I agree with Kiran that LiveJournal,
Blogger, Ryze, Orkut, etc. foster a different kind of online interaction that
can lead to more engaging conversations/interactions amongst a group/sub-group
while still maintaining a coherent and easily accessible online repository of
those exchanges.  Yet, I also think that each of these tools (including
mailing lists) attract its own crowd and there will always be people who will
prefer one tool over another (which Kiran has also already noted).

Firstly, I was suggesting that perhaps it would be useful to clarify
expectations/intentions around "reader-list" mailing list and then evaluate
what has happened.  Secondly, it would be useful to clarify what Sarai means
by "building community" or whatever else .. before evaluating new tools.
Thirdly, I think it would be too much to expect a "community" to form around
existing members of "reader-list".  Even from a narrow interpretation of
"community = participants in discussion" I think that goal can be safely
shelved without even doing anything.  Of course, communities would form around
LiveJournal or whatever else.  The communities that Kiran is a member of were
formed over time on their own without any conscious/controlled process on
Kiran's part, I would guess.  Similarly, the group that forms around Sarai's
LiveJournal "journal" might be a group of people different from those on
"reader-list at sarai.net", which is not necessarily bad.

Best,
Subbu.