[Mb-hair] Hair Blog/Hair List

[laurie at cubedsquared.com]

Bravo Nina!  That was really well done.
And I am making a mental note that when I am in need of someone to write
something tactful and politically correct, and still effectively get their
point across, I shall call you. (no lie!)
I'm sold -- see ya on the blog pages.
Laurie

 > it's been a mailing list for ten years, and it's always
>  > done the job, so why change?
>
> There are several ways I can answer that. The first, and the one I would
> give as a list member as opposed to as its moderator, would be that it
> is being changed because Michael, who generously covers the not
> inconsiderable costs associated with giving us this living room in
> cyberspace, wants it, after much consultation with his web master and
> server, to change.
>
> The answer I would give as the lists moderator is considerably longer,
> and includes some of the thought that Michael put into this decision.
> And it hasn't always "done the job" as well as it might. There have been
> many consistent problems with the listserve format. A small selection of
> those issues would include:
>
> People with slower connections complaining about large attachments
>
> People with limited mailbox size complaining about large attachments
>
> Having to temporarily unsubscribe when going on vacation so that
> accounts don't fill up
>
> Bounced emails disabling accounts constantly
>
> The inability to archive not only photos sent to the list, but any email
> that comes encoded with html formatting. This latter is serious from an
> archival standpoint, as such important list members as Tioga have email
> that comes as html, so for some time now his posts, which are often the
> very ones we want to have permanent access to for research purposes,
> have not been archived in the list archives. And no, the software
> couldn't be changed to accommodate this.
>
> The constant difficulties associated with almost all aol subscribers -
> difficulties in their subscribing, getting the confirmation email, and
> the regular mass unsubscribing aol does regularly of all aol list members.
>
> And spam! We get a lot. You aren't seeing it, but the list server
> receives a great deal of spam. Some of you may recall the problems we
> had in the past with it that necessitated a server switch, with many
> people threatening to unsubscribe. You don't see that spam any more
> because every time a piece of spam comes through the server I am sent a
> notice, and I have to go and look at it, determine whether it is spam or
> not, and delete it from the server so that it doesn't go through to all
> of the almost 100 subscribers. While this may take less than five
> minutes, and may seem insignificant in terms of my time, it doesn't
> always feel that way when I have to do it 20 or 30 times a day. Please
> understand - I am not complaining. I am happy to do that as part of
> being the moderator, and giving back to the Hair community for all it
> gives me. I only share this so that you can all understand some of the
> thought process that went into changing the format of the list.
>
> My personal experience in life has taught me that change is not always
> easy for me. I like the status quo, and when that changes I am often
> discombobulated. Until the new becomes the status quo, that is. We have
> a running joke in my family about this - Trevor had one specific style
> of Levi jeans that he had worn forever. A few years ago, horror of
> horrors, they discontinued his beloved style. He got the closest thing
> he could find it, but everything about the new style was wrong - they
> didn't fit right in the thighs, the pockets weren't right, and on and
> on. A year or so later Levi began making the old preferred style again
> and he happily went out and bought them again. But low and behold, over
> the year he had been wearing the "new" style they had, in fact, become
> the "old style", and the old preferred style now felt all wrong, and the
> new style had become the comfortable familiar. My immediate response to
> the new style of a blog format for the list was like Trevor's response
> to his new jeans - this didn't feel familiar or comfortable. But after a
> very short time there I was able to see that it was a comfortable and
> easy interface, and one I am sure will solve all of the above listed
> problems, as well as many more that I have not listed here. I have
> gotten several emails from list members praising the new blog format,
> one even  telling me that the current format was leading them to
> consider unsubscribing, but that they will now stay with us. I know that
> there are those of you who would prefer things stay in the current
> listserve format, but I encourage you to go to the blog and check it
> out. It was suggested earlier in this discussion that it be moved to
> yahoo groups. If you are comfortable with the yahoo format you will be
> comfortable with the Wordpress blog format. You won't have to miss the
> emails, as they are there, just online rather than in your email
> mailbox. Bookmark the blog site, and check in when it is convenient to
> you. We all check our email regularly, this is the same as that, just at
> a different place. If you have any questions or need support in
> understanding the new blog format in any way let me know! Email me at
> dayton3 at rcn.com and I will happily help.
>
> I urge you to try it, and to support Michael in the choices he makes for
> his server, and to trust him that he makes these choices for valid and
> important reasons, and only after much careful thought.
>
> Love,
> Nina
>
> The Hair Archives
> http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair
>
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