Re: [OMC-Boats] NEED LIST MANAGEMENT

On Wed, 12 Aug 2009, Kim Foster wrote:
> We need to do something about better managing the listserve, IMO. I
> really find this a valuable resource for parts and general info on the
> boats. But it is getting ridiculous when I get 20-30 emails a day on
> somebody not knowing what oil to use or why their prop is spinning in
> neutral. Or a multi-chaptered play by play of your "shakedown cruise"....
> Who cares?
> Is there some way the list can be paired down so that you only get info
> pertaining to your particular boat? I only want to see OMC Deluxe 17
> stuff. I don't want to wade through 30 emails about an Explorer or
> Evinrude... I'm not a computer geek so I don't know how you would do
> this, but I am just about to the point of cancelling my list serve...
> Maybe if 2-3 of you really want to discuss where your oil sender is, you
> could do carry on that discourse off the board?
> Don't want to sound cranky...just think it could be managed better...

I'm pretty happy with the list the way it is. I was actually pleased to
see all the traffic lately - the questions, the solutions, and the fun
stories and discussion. It's an enjoyable aside from other things I have
to deal with, and I can choose to look at it if and when I want, with no
obligation. Other times when I've been busy I've ignored the list
entirely, not answering or not even reading messages I might've. It
doesn't take much time to delete them on a week when I'm too busy to deal
with it. In my mail software, I can hit ; t s omc-boats <enter> a s
omc-boats <enter> and every new message from the list is filed away. If I
wanted to make it automatically, it can be scripted as well. Nearly every
modern mail reader offers similar functionality and it's not hard to figure
out.

These boats are all fairly similar and I've learned a lot from posts I
might not have chosen to read otherwise. Sorting it by hull type and size
would be ridiculous - the common element here (and the component that leads
to the most questions) is the OMC drives. Fragmenting the list would just
lead to fewer eyes reading each question, probably to the point of
uselessness. I'd much rather have a mailing list (with archives) than a
forum - I already have to read too many forums every day and I guarantee I
wouldn't make time for it - email gets pushed to me but I can ignore it and
it's still there for me when I want it.

Yes there are some stupid questions, but it's not hard to ignore them, or
to reply directly with brief answers in a situation where I still feel like
helping but it's not worth wasting the lists time. Everyone should buy the
manuals and some people probably shouldn't work on their own boats, but
deleting a message with a stupid questions isn't really that huge a deal.

Anyway, I'd like to see the list stay just the way it is.

Ethan

----
<a href="http://www.engr.wisc.edu/~brodskye/"> Ethan Brodsky </a>