[extropy-chat] META: ExI List Quality & Future

[Alex Ramonsky]

The list fulfils other functions as well as chat. Many people visit the 
list as a non-prejudiced, up-to-the-minute, reliable information source 
about matters scientific. They may not post often (I don't get much time 
to, for example) but find the list very worthwhile nevertheless. :  )
***********************

Natasha Vita-More wrote:

> "... a wide-open forum is a relic of the Cretaceous period of the 
> Internet. 
> The size of the net has probably grown by 8 or 9 orders of magnitude
> since the Early Days when the list was open.  I'm grateful it was back 
> then,
> but it's time to change."    Greg Burch, 2006
>
> _________________
>
> "I say: the List is dead! Long live the list!"  Max More, 2006
> ________________________________________________
>
>  
> Before you read any further, I would like you to know that ExI's 2006 
> formal Strategic Plan, which is being formatted for public viewing, 
> indicates that ExI is currently undergoing a transformational change.  
> One of the initiatives of the Plan is restructuring and modernizing 
> its email list.  The Strategic Plan is not public yet, and the 
> initiatives are scheduled for implementing after March 1, 2006, 
> although I believe we can expedite this initiative sooner. 
>  
> Please read on ...
>  
> The following are my thoughts about the current state of the email 
> list:  It is evident that list members cannot or will not actively 
> manage the list as they once did. This could be because of the list 
> volume,  I'm not sure.
>  
> Years ago, list members did not want to be controlled. They carried on 
> high-level discussions and, every now and then someone would cause a 
> conflict, and the list would work though problems.   The list was a 
> virtual team of extropians who thought about the future and their 
> unified worldview.  Newcomers to the list were scrutinized and, 
> eventually, welcomed into the forum.
>  
> Then extropians were criticized for being an "elitist" group and one 
> had to be highly intelligent, enormously creative, and exceptionally 
> knowledgeable about science and technology to fit in.  As the years 
> passed and the ideas became more widely known, the list maintained its 
> dignity and also welcomed more diversity and input from different 
> disciplines.
>  
> There were several very difficult times when the list was unbalanced, 
> attracting dogmatic posters on religion and politics.  It angered some 
> list members and they left for a while, started their own lists, but 
> eventually came back because they found something of value on ExI's 
> list.  That something is a sense of quality, depth, reasoning, 
> dignity.  List members expected quality and they usually got it.
>  
> There have been ups and downs and time and time again, because the 
> list is an open forum a few soapbox posters demanded that their point 
> of view was right.  Then there were trolls who came onto the list to 
> cause havoc.  Weeding out these posters with skill and tact, while at 
> the same time valuing a non-censored sentiment and uncontrolled list 
> environment, has been the job of list moderators.
>  
> Balancing these elements is not easy.  And for the posters, confidence 
> wanes, conflict arises and discontent prevails, until a transformation 
> occurs.
>  
> But transformation does not come easy. Conflict tends to shift focus 
> away from the basic goals of the list posters, reducing productivity 
> and the bottom line of "list quality."  Surveys show that list 
> moderators and managers spend about 20 to 50 percent (could be more) 
> of their time on conflict resolution. And as a result, the list 
> owners, such as ExI, have increased house cleaning tasks to empower 
> list posters to move beyond the conflict.  This repeated loop 
> reinforces confusion and distrust of list quality and makes the list 
> more vulnerable to problems, annoyances and distrust than ever.
>  
> As the Internet grows, posters are "supposed" to continue to be 
> self-directed, contribute their opinions, and communicate with a 
> greater number of list members. List posters have to be focused on 
> avoiding, accommodating, competing, compromising, and collaborating 
> with other list members.  By this, the individual list posters need to 
> be ready, at an instant's notice, to access to their own conflict 
> management skills.
>  
> This is asking a lot of list posters who are on the list to 
> communicate - not manage.  Over time this reinforcing cycle breaks 
> down the foundations of the environment, the extropy list, and the 
> only choice is to terminate the list or transform it into something new.
>  
> Greg Burch commented yesterday that "a wide-open forum is a relic of 
> the Cretaceous period of the Internet.  The size of the net has 
> probably grown by 8 or 9 orders of magnitude since the Early Days when 
> the list was open.  I'm grateful it was back then, but it's time to 
> change."
>  
> Max More said today: "When the Extropians e-mail list began 15 years 
> ago -- an eon in Internet time -- posters were intensely enthusiastic 
> people who clearly shared a core set of values and goals. Few people 
> outside the list had the necessary information or inclination to 
> participate. Years passed. Some time ago, we changed the name of the 
> list to "Extropy-Chat" to reflect the much looser collection of 
> posters and content.
>
> "Now is the time to change the list again. Many other e-mail lists now 
> exist where people can chat about any topic imaginable. Extropy 
> Institute and its principals have moved on to more focused, 
> solutions-oriented, practical thinking. A chat list fits poorly with 
> that shift.
>
> "It is time to terminate this list, or radically transform it, 
> depending on how you look at it. I favor an invitation-only list so as 
> to maximize the quality of postings. If feasible, read-only status 
> will also be an option. I say: the List is dead! Long live the list!"
>
> I look forward to seeing you in the future!
>  
> Natasha
>  
> The best defense is ProAction!
>  
>
>     Natasha <http://www.natasha.cc/>Vita-More <http://www.natasha.cc/>
>     President, Extropy Institute <http://www.extropy.org/> If you draw
>     a circle in the sand and study only what's inside the circle, then
>     that is a closed-system perspective. If you study what is inside
>     the circle and everything outside the circle, then that is an open
>     system perspective. Buckminster Fuller
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>_______________________________________________
>extropy-chat mailing list
>extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
>http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat
>  
>

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