The bottom line is, using thread subscriptions on a web-based
forum, you greatly reduce the number of emails you receive
that are of absolutely no interest to you. I consider that a
gain. Sure, it's good to visit the forum once in a while to
check out new topics, but that's no big deal; create an icon
on your desktop and click on it occasionally. A web-based
forum can accommodate more subscribers, posting on a wider
range of potentially marginal sub-topics (and off-topics),
without any strain whatsoever.
Mark
On 2/18/08, Patrick <
malone.ps@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I rarely post, but usually read, so I'm chiming in
here.
>
> A more fundamental issue to to me is "push" vs.
"pull."
>
> The basic problem with web-based fora is one has to
go to each of them
> to read them (and typically have to work through
several layers to
> read several topics), versus with mailing lists
having all of them
> come to one place. If one subscribes to 20 or 30 or
more mailing
> lists on a variety of topics, the web-based approach
becomes quite a
> barrier.
>
> And for many years now, it has been in many or most
POP and IMAP
> clients a simple issue to filter out discussion
topics that are not of
> interest.
>
> Pat
>
> On Feb 18, 2008 10:52 AM, Mark R. Harris <
brokerharris@gmail.com<brokerharris%40gmail.com>>
> wrote:
> > Spelling is a minor issue; the full range of
functionalities is a major
> > issue. A key point: the way Yahoo Groups is set
up, I can receive all
> > emails; a daily digest; or no emails at all.
What I can't do is decide
> which
> > topics and threads are of interest to me and
receive update notices on
> just
> > those topics. Once you have gotten used to the
ability to do that, the
> lack
> > of ability to do it is frankly somewhat
infuriating. Think of all the
> > annoyance that was created by the endless
back-and-forth on Altman's The
> > Long Goodbye, which could have been easily
resolved if people could
> decide
> > to subscribe to that thread or not, based on
their preference.
> >
> > Formats move on and improve. The "no frills"
approach strikes me as
> > antiquated and very lacking in
user-friendliness, and I am scarcely a
> > technological determinist.
> >
> > Mark
> >
>
>
-- Mark R. Harris 2122 W. Russet Court #8 Appleton WI 54914 (920) 470-9855 brokerharris@gmail.com
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