North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Regina M. Kreger" <regina@kreger.net>]

I like Yahoo groups.  I can choose to receive all messages by e-mail, 
individually or in digest mode -- like this list -- or no e-mail at all 
for the really busy lists so I can just log in to the list and read what 
I want.  It's basically a bulletin board AND an e-mail list, user's 
choice.  The digests come (optionally) in an enhanced e-mail format that 
lets me click on the subject heading at the top of the digest and jump 
to the message of interest.  I believe it is possible to set it up such 
that all comers can read all messages, but only administrator-approved 
members can post (which could be = paying NAFEX members).

For those with slow internet connections, it is a good thing to be able 
to go online, receive mail, go offline and read, rather than having to 
be online the whole time one is reading.

Robert Mullins wrote:
> <div class="moz-text-flowed" style="font-family: -moz-fixed">Well, to 
> be fair the question was 'how to get more people involved' and 'how to 
> get a better presence' for the group. Bulletin boards is how you do 
> it.  If your goal is to simply stay the same and watch your membership 
> dwindle then definitely you should stay with the way things are.  The 
> board members see the dwindling membership and want to do something 
> about it, and rightly so.  In addition, I do not have a vested 
> interest except I am very interested in seeing the past preserved, 
> especially with regard to antique apples and the like.  It is much 
> easier to secure and back up a highly structured and organized 
> database as what is used in a bulletin board format than in a 'mailing 
> list'.   Backing up a mailing list simply saves all the information in 
> a big, fat file, however backing up a database is structured, so that 
> the data 'makes sense' and can easily be un-packed and re-used.
> 'Rooting' was absolutely accurate when he described email listings 
> being 'antique', but it would be more descriptive to say it's 
> 'archaic' from a technological perspective.  I have wide interests, 
> and read across the board in many disciplines and I simply don't know 
> anyone still using mailing lists as a repository of information. You 
> said " I want to see a better argument against the email list than 
> that somebody thinks it is "antique"."  Well, with technology this is 
> a very real, and good argument.  Just as a good reason why NOT to buy 
> a Model 'T' Ford would be that you just can't find parts to them.  I'm 
> not saying that it wouldn't be cool to have one, but it's 
> functionality is greatly diminished if not pretty much useless.  If 
> you want to have a 'Model T' out of fascination that is 'OK' but from 
> what I get out of the past comments about mailing lists 'fascination' 
> is not something you want in your information dispersion methodology. 
> In addition, I am not one of those 'kids' who needs the shiny, and new 
> to be interested, but as a new subscriber to NAFEX how will I get to 
> something you posted here 5 years ago?  With bulletin boards I could 
> search that out even though I was a new subscriber.
>
> My perception is that NAFEX wants to be electronically viable as well 
> as increase in membership.  In order to do that the Pomona magazine 
> needs an overhaul as well as the way information is dispensed.  
> Information availability is very important in this information 
> overkilled world, and I personally don't know anyone who wants to pour 
> through around 100 emails a day just to get to information they are 
> interested in.  I myself considered turning off the email flood I get 
> from NAFEX because it's just way too much.
>
>
>
> Road's End Farm wrote:
> > Oh I read it. I want to see a better argument against the email list 
> > than that somebody thinks it is "antique". (I'm not saying there are 
> > no better arguments; I just haven't seen any yet that convinced me. 
> > Opinions will vary, I'm sure.)
> >
> > Of course, you're posting this to a group in which the word "antique" 
> > (as in "antique apple") is most often a compliment.
> >
> >
> > On Feb 17, 2008, at 8:12 PM, Robert Mullins wrote:
> >
> >  
> > > Amen brother, hopefully 'Roads End' is reading this as well.
> > >
> > > -rob
> > >
> > > rooting wrote:
> > >    
> > > > Having read several comments about the listserver which NAFEX
> > > > uses, the current technology used by NAFEX is antique. The
> > > > most groups do not use e-mail for delivery. Rather they have a current
> > > > flow of information by topic using a board typically used by blogs.
> > > >
> > > > Off topic, I have contributed to and frequently visit the mandolincafe
> > > > http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi
> > > > Mandolincafe is a specialty 'group' of people interested in playing
> > > > the mandolin. Soon they will have their 500,000th posting.
> > > >
> > > > I suggest that the NAFEX webmaster(s) take a look at Mandolincafe
> > > > which uses a free program from
> > > > http://www.ikonboard.com/
> > > > This program can be used on the http://nafex.org
> > > > <http://nafex.org/> server
> > > >
> > > >       
> >
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>
> </div>