[MUD-Dev] META: Making the list public?

[Shawn Halpenny]

clawrenc at cup.hp.com wrote:
> 
> In <33cdb185.852381069 at neptune>, on 07/16/97
>    at 08:36 AM, alexo at bigfoot.com (Alex Oren) said:
> 
> >JCL wrote:
> 
> >} A)  Should the archives be requestable or browsable by non-members?
> >} Note that this effectively makes every poster's email address open.
> 
> >I dunno.  There is a difference between sharing ideas with a small
> >group of people and putting them in the public domain.
> 
> Note: membership is currently around 50.  Its not so small anymore.
> Active (ie posting) membership is in the teens to low twenties
> (guess).  My gut feel is that we need to at least double both figures
> before the lit could be considered as stable and self-supporting (the
> traffic levels that that implies raises other concerns).
> 
> Side question:  Outside of anything to do with archives, should I make
> the membership list open to members?  This could be as crude as
> posting the membership list to the list once a month, or some other
> much more controlled form.

I can't see this as much more than something that satisfies one's
curiosity.  Yes, I'm curious enough to look at the membership list, but
beyond that, I'm unsure of what I'd keep it around for.

> >} B)  Should the list be echoed (one way) to a newsgroup?  If it is
> >} echoed to a newsgroup should that group be a private group on a
> >} private newsserver, or should I create a moderated alt.mud.development
> >} group?
> 
> >I'm firewalled from external newsservers and cannot persuade the
> >sysadmins to make *any* group that does not directly relate to my
> >work available.
> 
> Note: I could externalise that private newsgroup to a web page.  That
> web-page could be private to list members or public.

I'm in the same boat, with respect to availability of new newsgroups, and
the externalization of the ng to a web page would be acceptable.  Is there
a point, though, if it is only available to list members?  That is, they
already receive the list and can post as desired.

I think there is the potential for gain if non-members can at least
see what is discussed on the list.  If one of them wants to comment,
they can email the author of the post (this of course hinges on the
email address of the author being available--not a concern of mine
where my address is concerned, but certainly others could feel
differently).  This can lead to the appropriate invitations.  How
these non-members access the list is the question, then.

* newsgroup
	I would have problems with this no matter how it was done.  I won't be
	able to see any external private newsserver, and the admins
	here picking up the group is doubtful.
* Browsable or searchable archive on a web page
	I'd prefer browsable over searchable.  There are numerous times when I
	just feel like sitting down and idly perusing the posts, not looking
	for anything in particular.  This is much easier if you don't have to
	think up keywords first.  However, a combination would be nice for
	those times when you _are_ looking for something specific.  This one
	has my vote.  If it were public, fine--see above.
* email requestable archive
	Given the size of them, I'd hesitate on this one.  If you only want a
	particular thread, you have to get an entire month's worth of threads
	and then dig through it for what you wanted.
* blast-o-gram by request on a different list or once-per-month regardless
	The first I'd accept, and the latter would probably kill me.  The first
	is similar to a plain email requestable archive.

I, for one, would welcome an archive (or more) of what has gone on the list
before I got here.  Even right back to its inception, if possible.  It was
frustrating at first since there is (IMO) a certain degree of "getting up to
speed" that has to be done before a new member can really usefully
contribute to the list.  It would be easier if we could simply point a new
member to an archive.

--
Shawn Halpenny

"Turn once for maximum vend."
                                            - Me