[meteorite-list] What doesn't this list use an online

From: Martin Altmann <altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:28:49 +0100
Message-ID: <01ea01c87620$06be1250$177f2a59_at_name86d88d87e2>

But only shortly, I will,
As it's for me a not soooo interesting topic.

1. 11 years is a relatively long period. If one sets up a poll, I suppose
meanwhile the majority of collectors would tell to collect meteorites for a
shorter period of time.
Before this list, the collectors had to communicate privately via letters,
phone, meetings on fairs... that list was the first wider agora accessible
for everyone, therefore somewhat sacrosanct for many of us.
And as you see a fine balanced mix of members has developed. Scientists,
collectors - veterans and beginners, dealers, hunters.

2. We are me, and several German collectors/dealers, and I'm sure a lot of
members too.

3.-7. A forum is more inconvenient than a mailing list.
You have to log in, the threads are grouped thematically, always only that
one with the newest response is displayed. Old threads reappear, after
someone posts a new answer. The threads themselves are displayed with all
answers (also the not so interesting ones) chronologically.
If you want to respond in private to a member, you have to do it with the
forums-mail-option, if you don't want to search his email-address (here on
the mailing list, a lot of conversation happens privately). You have to read
in the threads also emails from persons, who you maybe don't like that much.
A forum allows a lot of pictures to be posted, hence you have to wait, until
they are loaded up and have to watch them, even if they don't interest you
that much.
Some people prefer to stay anonymous in forums. You have to stay online to
use a forum. If you want to have some interesting information from a forum
preserved on your disk, you have to paste and copy and save by hand..
And a moderator has a lot of work to do. (not to mention the legal troubles,
here in Germany for example, the moderate can be sued, when a member of the
forum write some rubbish). A forum is more immediate, if you have to write
an email and to send it, it seems at least to me, that this little delay is
helpful to avoid unsolicitous answers, so that the tenor in mailing-lists is
a little bit more civilized..

A lot of more clicking and scrolling.

Here with that list, the postings come automatically on my calculator.
Because of the text-format and as no attachments are used, they don't take
much space. I see the subject lines and the senders, that, in what I'm not
interested I can delete rapidly, that what is of high interest I can store
easily for later use. And I haven't to be all the time online, save a lot of
time in not clicking and scrolling around. If I'm out for a longer while, I
don't have to fight through many threads like in a forum...
And remember that here on the list are much more active members than in many
forums. What a volume...
A fine thing.

Forums are fine too and helpful, but they are a different type of
conversation. blogs, chat rooms too.

So I see no problem in the list staying like it always was and having forums
parallely.

My opinion only,
and let's turn back to stones and irons!

Best!
Martin




-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
Von: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] Im Auftrag von David &
Kitt Deyarmin
Gesendet: Samstag, 23. Februar 2008 03:23
An: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Betreff: [meteorite-list] What doesn't this list use an online

Please explain the following:

1. The meteorite list is a time-honoured institution.

It's only been around for 11 years. What did you use before the list?


2.We love the old-fashion style

Who is we? Are you speaking for the entire membership?


3. A forum offers a lot of more knickknack. It's more laboriously to use,

How is a forum had to use



4. unclear, the threads are more difficult to follow

How is unclear and how could a thread with every reply in chronological
order be difficult to follow?



5. and it would cause much more work for poor Art.

Why would it cause more work for Art?



6. The conversation there would be less formal, hence a lot of not so
interesting stuff to read ect.


Again, why would it be less formal, not that this list is formal by any
stretch


7. you had to fight through hundreds of pictures, which might not interest
you....

In all my years I have never read a thread that had hundreds of images.
However wouldn't it be nice to be able to see a picture that someone wanted
to post instead of having to click on a URL which has been interrupted and
split into to 2 lines, so you have to go back and cut and paste each part
into the address bar.

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Received on Sat 23 Feb 2008 08:28:49 AM PST