Ecolog-l Fellows (of all sexes):
Dr. Inouye's call for proper use of this listserve is entirely reasonable,
but it appears that he is forced to spend a lot of time weeding out alien
posts. This would seem to imply a need for self-restraint on the part of
those posting, and that burden should fairly fall most heavily upon those
who post frequently. It is a fair presumption that his workload has
increased proportional to the success of Ecolog-l, and if the server is
nearing saturation or a breaking point, the last thing we want is for the
whole thing to bust--or even decline in the breadth of its service, both
quantitatively and qualitatively--in terms of number of subscribers and the
quality of the discourse, "queries and discussions about ecological topics."
Doubtless deciding which to weed and which to plant on the list is a heavy
responsibility.
The quality of the discourse should not be harmed by it's being "a little
less conversational," so relevance in both original posts and responses, as
well as conciseness and brevity, along with intellectual integrity and
scholarly discipline should be a welcome trend. All of us subscribers can
show our gratitude and respect for David and the list's "charter" by trying
harder to stick to relevant issues and to resist clogging the discourse with
personal matters and "conversations" that are of interest or relevance only
to two parties and not to the listserve community. To the extent that we can
succeed in "self-policing" our posts, David's weeding workload should be
minimized, if not significantly reduced.
I realize that this post is not strictly about an "ecological topic," but I
hope it is seen as at least relevant and issue-oriented.
Yr. Ob't. Sv't.,
WT
PS: As to my mailbox, Ecolg is not a major contributor to the clogging
problem--I find the delete key very easy to use--it would be even easier,
however, if the subject line was more consistently relevant to the content
of the post. I continue to welcome off-list responses, especially if that
will help lighten David's and the server's load.
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Inouye" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 3:13 PM
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] 13,000 subscribers
A few days ago the number of ECOLOG-L subscribers reached 13,000. I
started the list in 1992. It reached 6,000 in September 2006, 7,000 in
November 2007, 8,000 in October 2008, 9,000 in March 2009, 10,000 in April
2010, 11,000 in September 2010, and 12,000 in February of this year (that's
almost enough data points to plot a significant growth curve!). Many
subscribers are members of the Ecological Society of America, but those of
you who aren't can get information about membership (including student
memberships) at the ESA Web site, www.esa.org.
The character of the list has changed some as it has grown over the years.
It has become a major resource for those advertising or seeking positions
ranging from research assistantships, graduate student opportunities,
postdocs, and faculty positions, as well as jobs in government and
industry. But it has also become a little less conversational as I've had
to strike a balance between overwhelming people's mailboxes (and the
server) and continuing its original function as a venue for queries and
discussions about ecological topics. I hope all subscribers will continue
to use it for such topics. Note that there is also another list
(ESA-STUDENTS) available for use by students; you can subscribe to that by
sending the message
sub ESA--STUDENTS [add your name here]
to
[email protected]
It is currently moderated by [email protected] (Liz Harp)
There is only one other non-campus listserv list hosted by the University
of Maryland that has more subscribers than ECOLOG-L, and I now have to be
careful about not overloading the listserv server by sending too many
messages in a short period of time. Thanks to the University for
providing this service for ecologists from around the world (over 60
countries), and to the three or four people (mostly my postdocs) who have
helped moderate the list when I'm out of the country or in the bottom of
the Grand Canyon.
David Inouye, list owner and moderator
Dept. of Biology
University of Maryland
[email protected]
-----
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