Re: [unrev-II] Email based on invitation & introduction

From: Eric Armstrong (eric.armstrong@eng.sun.com)
Date: Wed Apr 11 2001 - 15:07:39 PDT

  • Next message: altintdev@webtv.net: "RE: [unrev-II] Semiotics for Beginners"

    V.S.Uren@open.ac.uk wrote:
    >
    > Yes indeed! The model propsed leads to models of doing business which
    > in
    > Britain get called "jobs for the boys" and "old school tie" its very
    > damaging to innovation. The good/bad thing about only talking to
    > people who
    > are "in the club" is that you only get to hear what you like to hear -
    > this
    > is not good for any society.
    >
    The problem is not with clubs, per se, but rather with the
    openness of the club. Having a "club" is no different from
    having an email list. To get on it, people subscribe. It
    need be no more "exclusive" than that.

    However, the total lack of civility that is rampant in some
    chat rooms, and the overwhelming volume of spam that deluges
    my inbox on a daily basis (a volume which is beginning to
    exceed a noise to signal ratio of 10:1), I think it makes
    sense to consider ways to rein in the rampant nuttiness
    which is currently on the loose.

    I recall hearing one internet old-timer speak of the
    "endless fall" of 1994, or some such. The story goes like
    this:
      Every fall, new students would arrive on campus, and
      they would begin making newbie mistakes in the chat
      rooms. They would be duly chastised &/or educated by
      the old timers, and by the time winter rolled around,
      pretty much everyone had gotten with the program, and
      investigative dialog (rather than confrontational)
      was pretty much the norm, until the following fall.

      Then came the explosion of the web. (1994?) The mass of
      newcomers completely overwhelmed the existing population,
      and the "socialization process" never quite caught up
      with the influx.

      In those days, mechanisms for spamming were much less
      sophisticated, so anyone who misused the system could
      be mail-bombed into submission. But these days, such
      retalitory practices are pretty near impossible. So
      the perpetrators get off mostly scot-free.

    The invitation mechanism provides a vehicle for improving
    both scenarios. Personally, if I had at my disposal an
    email client which virtually eliminated any chance of
    spam, I suspect I would be quick to use it.

    ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~>
    Do you have 128-bit SSL encryption server security?
    Get VeriSign's FREE Guide, "Securing Your
    Web Site for Business." Get it now!
    http://us.click.yahoo.com/2cW4jC/c.WCAA/bT0EAA/IaAVlB/TM
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------_->

    Community email addresses:
      Post message: unrev-II@onelist.com
      Subscribe: unrev-II-subscribe@onelist.com
      Unsubscribe: unrev-II-unsubscribe@onelist.com
      List owner: unrev-II-owner@onelist.com

    Shortcut URL to this page:
      http://www.onelist.com/community/unrev-II

    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Apr 11 2001 - 15:18:41 PDT