Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Mail list vs Forum? (After the arc was built, then came the rains...)
| Mail list vs Forum? [message #243488] |
Fri, 14 March 2014 15:54  |
corleyw
Messages: 130
Registered: June 2007
Location: Battle Ground, WA
Karma: 0
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I'm sure this topic has been beat to death, and if my "gmc.mybirdfeeder.net" search skills were on par with my self assessment of same, then I'd probably know all about this. But, please bare with me:
Many years ago, I was on the mail list, and enjoyed that way of doing business. It was a lot better than the old bulletin boards of the past, and served the GMC community well. (By the way, what ever happened to the Commodore [Arch], he was the best!) Those were some good old days, with not so much back biting and chest pounding (as I now, probably incorrectly, remember them.)
Anyway, then, the arc was built, the water came and went, the animals multiplied, and things changed/advanced. Not all those changes were for the better, but some offered great advances. Now, here we are in the "modern times of today", and we still have this confusion of an antiquated mail list merged through, quite frankly, some mysterious magic, with this sort of a forum. Magically, and with mirrors and duplication and some sort of redundancy. (I say "sort of a forum", only to reflect on the confusion of the merged mail list with the forum.)
So, how come this all doesn't move in the direction of a true modern day forum, and drop the archaic mail list. Or, is it just me that thinks things are not ideal? The mail list served a purpose well, and was a great tool, but is it still really needed? Is it only there because a very few people refuse to "go modern"? I'm pretty sure the forum would be a lot cleaner, both in software support, and in look/usability without the mail list cludge.
I want to make it clear, that I respect everything that has been done, and the massive amount of work that someone has put into supporting all this, and I'm grateful for it. That is not the point at all here... I'm pretty sure the support load would be smaller if the mail list were history, and certainly the forum would have a cleaner appearance/feel. I also respect those who still use the mail list, but I wonder if that is more out of habit than really needing that old format.
Just asking, please be kind and considerate of my ignorance on this topic.
{PS I'm not a total idiot on forums, I do own/run a T-Bucket forum myself, so have been exposed to some of the problems/issues associated with forum ownership/management. Hence, my interest.}
Corley
'76 Glenbrook
29 other vehicles
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| Re: [GMCnet] Mail list vs Forum? [message #243491 is a reply to message #243488] |
Fri, 14 March 2014 15:57  |
Olly Schmidt
Messages: 1265
Registered: February 2014
Location: Germany and Scottsville, ...
Karma: 8
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I for one prefer mailing lists over forums due to two reasons:
a) single place on my computer where everything is
b) offline reading and searching
c) auto-delivery without having to think about it
oops, got to three
--
Best regards
Peer Oliver Schmidt
PGP Key ID: 0x83E1C2EA
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
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Best regards
Olly Schmidt
PGP Key ID: 0x18a9 3a1f 4196 bf22
'76a Eleganza II, VA
'73 Sequoia, SH, Germany
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| Re: [GMCnet] Mail list vs Forum? [message #243495 is a reply to message #243488] |
Fri, 14 March 2014 16:22 |
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ljdavick
Messages: 3548
Registered: March 2007
Location: Fremont, CA
Karma: -3
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Senior Member |
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I use both but prefer email.
Larry Davick
A Mystery Machine
1976(ish) Palm Beach
Fremont, CA
> On Mar 14, 2014, at 1:54 PM, Corley Wooldridge <corley@corleyw.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> I'm sure this topic has been beat to death, and if my "gmc.mybirdfeeder.net" search skills were on par with my self assessment of same, then I'd probably know all about this. But, please bare with me:
>
> Many years ago, I was on the mail list, and enjoyed that way of doing business. It was a lot better than the old bulletin boards of the past, and served the GMC community well. (By the way, what ever happened to the Commodore [Arch], he was the best!) Those were some good old days, with not so much back biting and chest pounding (as I now, probably incorrectly, remember them.)
>
> Anyway, then, the arc was built, the water came and went, the animals multiplied, and things changed/advanced. Not all those changes were for the better, but some offered great advances. Now, here we are in the "modern times of today", and we still have this confusion of an antiquated mail list merged through, quite frankly, some mysterious magic, with this sort of a forum. Magically, and with mirrors and duplication and some sort of redundancy. (I say "sort of a forum", only to reflect on the confusion of the merged mail list with the forum.)
>
> So, how come this all doesn't move in the direction of a true modern day forum, and drop the archaic mail list. Or, is it just me that thinks things are not ideal? The mail list served a purpose well, and was a great tool, but is it still really needed? Is it only there because a very few people refuse to "go modern"? I'm pretty sure the forum would be a lot cleaner, both in software support, and in look/usability without the mail list cludge.
>
> I want to make it clear, that I respect everything that has been done, and the massive amount of work that someone has put into supporting all this, and I'm grateful for it. That is not the point at all here... I'm pretty sure the support load would be smaller if the mail list were history, and certainly the forum would have a cleaner appearance/feel. I also respect those who still use the mail list, but I wonder if that is more out of habit than really needing that old format.
>
> Just asking, please be kind and considerate of my ignorance on this topic.
>
> {PS I'm not a total idiot on forums, I do own/run a T-Bucket forum myself, so have been exposed to some of the problems/issues associated with forum ownership/management. Hence, my interest.}
>
> --
> Corley
> '76 Glenbrook
> 29 other vehicles
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
Larry Davick
A Mystery Machine
1976(ish) Palm Beach
Fremont, Ca
Howell EFI + EBL + Electronic Dizzy
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| Re: [GMCnet] Mail list vs Forum? [message #243496 is a reply to message #243491] |
Fri, 14 March 2014 16:29 |
Ken Burton
Messages: 10030
Registered: January 2004
Location: Hebron, Indiana
Karma: 10
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Back in the 1960's and 1970's we had a similar problem. There was a sub set of people that would not use disk and tape to store their data. They had to be able to handle the data see the holes in their cards to be sure that they really had the data archived.
Over time that phobia passed or all of those people died off.
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
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| Re: [GMCnet] Mail list vs Forum? [message #243501 is a reply to message #243491] |
Fri, 14 March 2014 16:57 |
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Matt Colie
Messages: 8547
Registered: March 2007
Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
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Senior Member |
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This is just one more set of observations and opinions.
Some like the mail list as it still exists, because as Peer referred it dumps everything in just one place. It is also far easier to deal with if you are stuck with slow access or expensive bandwidth. One can pull in e-mail only with very little capacity. The only stumbling block then was those that insisted on embedding pictures as that would grind the delivery to a halt with no hope of recovery. Some like it because the mail client they use assembles all the incoming messages by topic, so they are not bothered by the odd thread highjack.
This is fine, but I did use both and still receive and store the digest. But with my business interests, I pretty much had to go to the forum alone (the digest comes into a remote box and not my primary mail client) because I did not carry wire and when I did get my mail client open it would get swamped by the incoming even though it was not in the business mail box. The only answer was to take those @ddress out of the primary mail client. Then, I had to remember to go look for them in yet a third mail client or as webmail.
I have nine @ddress, two are reserved for the boat work. One of those will be closed in a month as the boat work here has disappeared since the start of the depression. I like the multi-address because as soon as something comes into one of them, I immediately understand its priority. The great thing with this is that when something unexpected comes in with a non-relevant subject or a strange sender, it can get deleted as soon as it is seen. That saves me a lot of time. I can't run an address book based filter on the business or household in boxes.
Now, the thing that I like about the forum, it is all at the single url. I can get to it and read it inline. The forum does a very good job of keeping track of what I have read. and I can walk back several days pretty easily to reread a thread. The only problem still is highjacked threads. There have been threads that I back out of and missed something I would have liked to know about because I had never seen the new part.
With all the e-mail business I still do conduct, the GMC (now relegated to being a toy/hobby) related e-mail comes into one box that I can ignore if there is not time to process it. When it was still being used as a primary business location, I had to have a significant interest in keeping it mobile.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
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| Re: [GMCnet] Mail list vs Forum? [message #243543 is a reply to message #243488] |
Fri, 14 March 2014 21:03 |
emerystora
Messages: 4442
Registered: January 2004
Karma: 13
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Senior Member |
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I prefer the mailing list. I can easily read and delete them when using my I phone.
When on my computer with a single click I can quickly and easily move the ones I want to save to one of many folders that I have set up such as Tires, Transmissions, Brakes. Etc. I have been doing this for years and have a very large library of information at my fingertips without having to sigh onto the Internet and search.
I can search all my emails and folders even when not connected to the Internet. Very handy when traveling and not having an Internet connection. I have often had a phone call asking a question and if at my computer I can usually know that I have the answer and can find the answer while talking on the phone without having to call back. I couldn't do this with the forum.
I have used the Forum but find it cumbersome and time consuming to look for an old email that I can find now in seconds on my computer.
Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Frederick. CO
> On Mar 14, 2014, at 3:54 PM, Corley Wooldridge <corley@corleyw.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> I'm sure this topic has been beat to death, and if my "gmc.mybirdfeeder.net" search skills were on par with my self assessment of same, then I'd probably know all about this. But, please bare with me:
>
> Many years ago, I was on the mail list, and enjoyed that way of doing business. It was a lot better than the old bulletin boards of the past, and served the GMC community well. (By the way, what ever happened to the Commodore [Arch], he was the best!) Those were some good old days, with not so much back biting and chest pounding (as I now, probably incorrectly, remember them.)
>
> Anyway, then, the arc was built, the water came and went, the animals multiplied, and things changed/advanced. Not all those changes were for the better, but some offered great advances. Now, here we are in the "modern times of today", and we still have this confusion of an antiquated mail list merged through, quite frankly, some mysterious magic, with this sort of a forum. Magically, and with mirrors and duplication and some sort of redundancy. (I say "sort of a forum", only to reflect on the confusion of the merged mail list with the forum.)
>
> So, how come this all doesn't move in the direction of a true modern day forum, and drop the archaic mail list. Or, is it just me that thinks things are not ideal? The mail list served a purpose well, and was a great tool, but is it still really needed? Is it only there because a very few people refuse to "go modern"? I'm pretty sure the forum would be a lot cleaner, both in software support, and in look/usability without the mail list cludge.
>
> I want to make it clear, that I respect everything that has been done, and the massive amount of work that someone has put into supporting all this, and I'm grateful for it. That is not the point at all here... I'm pretty sure the support load would be smaller if the mail list were history, and certainly the forum would have a cleaner appearance/feel. I also respect those who still use the mail list, but I wonder if that is more out of habit than really needing that old format.
>
> Just asking, please be kind and considerate of my ignorance on this topic.
>
> {PS I'm not a total idiot on forums, I do own/run a T-Bucket forum myself, so have been exposed to some of the problems/issues associated with forum ownership/management. Hence, my interest.}
>
> --
> Corley
> '76 Glenbrook
> 29 other vehicles
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
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| Re: [GMCnet] Mail list vs Forum? [message #243695 is a reply to message #243578] |
Sat, 15 March 2014 21:25 |
corleyw
Messages: 130
Registered: June 2007
Location: Battle Ground, WA
Karma: 0
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Senior Member |
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Rob,
Thank you for your response, you can't imagine how helpful it is to me. Seems like I couldn't get through a day without your helpful input. 
Seriously though, sometimes people just need a good prod and poke to get them to go with modern times and tools, and abandon some outdated, difficult to maintain tools. If that were/is the case here, if people are just stuck on an antiquated system of emails, my big help would be to suggest we relieve the admin person (op) of the burdensome merge/management of two different systems and allow him to simplify the forum software package, and clean up the UI for all of us. Surely simplification of the forum would be a big benefit for him...
As far as saving posts on specific subjects to your local host, there is no reason in the world why you can't save forum data to your local machine. It would be a different process than plunking an email into a directory, but could be just as, or even more useful, with a trivial amount of work.
And that prodding/poking, my friend, is my total contribution, nothing more, and best of all, it's free. As far as bashing the forum and sys op (admin), no way. Being an admin on a forum myself, I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than bad mouth someone who is putting all that time and effort into this. Much prefer to make his job a bit easier.
As I said, just my opinion, nothing more...
Corley
'76 Glenbrook
29 other vehicles
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