The Natural Life Cycle of Mailing Lists

Post by jmcc on p.ie

http://www.oii.org/lists/lifecycle.html

Quote :

This seemed like a good time to post this item from the Humor List.
Michael Forster

THE NATURAL LIFE CYCLE OF MAILING LISTS

Every list seems to go through the same cycle:

1. Initial enthusiasm (people introduce themselves, and gush a lot 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)

Does everything organism or organisation have a life cycle ? Lots here will recognise that pattern above.

Auditor #9 wrote:

Post by jmcc on p.ie

http://www.oii.org/lists/lifecycle.html

Quote :

This seemed like a good time to post this item from the Humor List.
Michael Forster

THE NATURAL LIFE CYCLE OF MAILING LISTS

Every list seems to go through the same cycle:

1. Initial enthusiasm (people introduce themselves, and gush a lot 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)

Does everything organism or organisation have a life cycle ? Lots here will recognise that pattern above.

Well that looks like it could apply to virtually anything, from a product fad like iPods to political movements and websites and so on.

There's a kernel of truth in that. It depends on how smug and self-regarding the poster is, and how seduced he/she is by the 'old boys' club' element that sees newbies as tresspassers in the smug-fest. I think such people tend to be a minority, albeit a vocal one. They're forever whinging, after a time has passed, about how much 'standards have slipped', but when someone resurrects a very old thread it quickly becomes apparent how similar standards were then. One poster, prone to occasional hysteria, has posted the same complaints in three different user-names over three years, including again today. The trick is to recognise the potential to fall into the cycle, and to resolve not to become like that. A close equivalent is how fathers tell their kids how much better music was in their day (although, in my case, if I had kids, it would be true.......)

Ard Taoiseach that's a good point there now - I wasn't thinking of solid objects too much but it's the whole thing of 'fads' though isn't it ? Are bulletin boards more like cliques or groups with those kinds of dynamics or are you on the ball there with the non-essential fads comparison ?

toxic avenger wrote:

The trick is to recognise the potential to fall into the cycle, and to resolve not to become like that. A close equivalent is how fathers tell their kids how much better music was in their day (although, in my case, if I had kids, it would be true.......)

Any ideas how to break out of that cycle though - your music really isn't better than Rihanna and Amy Winehouse you know ...

Auditor #9 wrote:

toxic avenger wrote:

The trick is to recognise the potential to fall into the cycle, and to resolve not to become like that. A close equivalent is how fathers tell their kids how much better music was in their day (although, in my case, if I had kids, it would be true.......)

Any ideas how to break out of that cycle though - your music really isn't better than Rihanna and Amy Winehouse you know ...

Most posters avoid the cycle, and for the ones that are in the cycle there's no desire to break out, it makes them feel 'special'.

Throbbing Gristle not better than Rihanna? Sacrilege. Though the word 'music' might be stretching it... And Amy Winehouse is no Mark E. Smith...

So where can we get some more posters now, ones who will bring us happiness and joy and wash our feet with their tears of gratitude ?

Do you not like Amy Winehouse or Rihanna ?

Auditor #9 wrote:

So where can we get some more posters now, ones who will bring us happiness and joy and wash our feet with their tears of gratitude ?

Do you not like Amy Winehouse or Rihanna ?

Mormons are very enthusiastic and permanently unoffendable people, I say we all fly off to Utah...

Winehouse is ok, Rihanna no. I'm open to new stuff, though I rarely get the adrenaline rush I got listening to one minute forty seconds of 'Police Car' by the Cockney Rejects. Don't keep up much now that John Peel is dead...

Mormons ? I like the Hare Krishnas myself but I don't think they have many computers.

Music goes through cycles as well. Winehouse seems to be a big part of a Motown revival or something ? I wonder was she completely manufactured ?

I think this is great below - "Tears dry on their own". Hard to believe that when she stops singing and starts talking she sounds like Michael Caine