Message-ID: <0098F2C0DAB41FA0.0000078C@tmar.com> Date: Thu, 20 Apr 1995 16:04:17 EST From: "Chuck B. at Ext. 214" <mailto:chuckb@TMAR.COM> Subject: Mailing list life cycles, topical part-humor To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L
An essay courtesy of another list.c.b.
>>
>>
>>
>>THE NATURAL LIFE CYCLE OF MAILING LISTS
>>
>>Every list seems to go through the same cycle:
>>
>>1. Initial enthusiasm (people introduce themselves, and gush
>> alot about how wonderful it is to find kindred souls).
>>
>>2. Evangelism (people moan about how few folks are posting to
>> the list, and brainstorm recruitment strategies).
>>
>>3. Growth (more and more people join, more and more lengthy
>> threads develop, occasional off-topic threads pop up)
>>
>>4. Community (lots of threads, some more relevant than others;
>> lots of information and advice is exchanged; experts help other
>> experts as well as less experienced colleagues; friendships
>> develop; people tease each other; newcomers are welcomed with
>> generosity and patience; everyone---newbie and expert alike---
>> feels comfortable asking questions, suggesting answers, and
>> sharing opinions)
>>
>>5. Discomfort with diversity (the number of messages increases
>> dramatically; not every thread is fascinating to every
>> reader; people start complaining about the signal-to-noise
>> ratio; person 1 threatens to quit if *other* people don't
>> limit discussion to person 1's pet topic; person 2 agrees
>> with person 1; person 3 tells 1 & 2 to lighten up; more
>> bandwidth is wasted complaining about off-topic threads
>> than is used for the threads themselves; everyone gets
>> annoyed)
>>
>>6a. Smug complacency and stagnation (the purists flame everyone
>> who asks an 'old' question or responds with humor to a serious
>> post; newbies are rebuffed; traffic drops to a doze-producing
>> level of a few minor issues; all interesting discussions happen
>> by private email and are limited to a few participants; the
>> purists spend lots of time self-righteously congratulating
>> each other on keeping off-topic threads off the list)
>>
>> OR
>>
>>6b. Maturity (a few people quit in a huff; the rest of the
>> participants stay near stage 4, with stage 5 popping up briefly
>> every few weeks; many people wear out their second or third
>> 'delete' key, but the list lives contentedly ever after)