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Thoughts on the BMW list changes...

Hi all.

In answer to Peter LaPine's question as to where I've been and whether the
digest form has impacted participation, let me first say: I've been real
busy with more important (personal) things, so I have made the BMW list a
dramatically lower priority.  Sure, the digest form makes it less
convenient to respond to existing threads, but that's what cut-and-paste
was invented for.  And it takes little effort to correct a subject line. 

Part of the reason I made it a lower priority is that I am truly saddened
by the obvious demise of the list over the last year.  Like others here,
I'd like to find a way to preserve the list and see it succeed. 

My life has improved in so many ways since I subscribed to the BMW list,
not to mention all the other sources of information on the Internet.  As
someone who's been on the Internet since 1987, I am very nostalgic for the
old list.  I have developed a deep respect and admiration for Richard and
all the other wonderful people that have worked *SO* hard to make this
list work.  I can never fully repay them all for that!  Do you people
fully realize what gold mines Ben T., Jim C., and Don E. are?!? The money
that I've saved due to this list is fantastic - I've learned a hell of a
lot (*I* was a newcomer at one time, too). So I figured the best I could
do was to share what *I* have learned about BMWs and do-it-yourself
procedures and give that back to the list so that others may benefit. 
People like Jon S. and Jim S. have taken that concept to its most
beneficial extreme with the Web server.  We're very fortunate for that. 
 
When I was at DEC, most of us list members were people that got access to
the Internet through our jobs or schools, which basically meant we were
mostly engineers and scientists.  These sorts are generally pretty good at
observing and following procedures.  This meant that for the most part, we
followed the unwritten rules of netiquette pretty well.  The list worked
real well back then. 

The awesome power of knowledge bases was being harnessed efficiently and
just starting to be recognized by the non-techies.  But as the Internet
has become accessible by more and more people, our friendly little list
has been bombarded, not to mention our esteemed list coordinator.  The
list is not what it used to be, and I think it has changed for the worse. 

I wish every Internet provider would actually train their users before
setting them loose on the Information Superhighway.  It is akin to the way
people in the USA obtain drivers licenses and are set loose on the
highways without a hint of proper training.  It's "learn as you go", much
like on the highway.  It should not work that way - it's ridiculously
inefficient (and furthermore, our highways are dangerous 8^)). 

Perhaps with more user-friendly interfaces in the future, we'll see less
posts WITH CAPITAL LETTERS through the whole message, or subject names
like "Help" or "RE: BMW Digest #34" or "".  I still fantasize about a
filtering utility tied into the list server that bounces all messages with
strings like, "subscribe", "daddy's gonna buy me a", "BMW versus",
"Where's the FAQ"... well, you get the idea.  Why don't people care to
spell-check their posts? Do you all realize how many
non-English-as-a-first-language people read this list?  Can't you show
them a bit of respect? I am hopeful that more user-friendly software in
the future will make the conduits to the Information Superhighway more
idiot-proof - this could improve the list a lot (we'd still have to deal
with "dropped a 454 in a 320" posts, though 8^)). 

I have been troubled recently by what seemed like a reasonable suggestion
to start a members-only list.  But after much thought, I realized that a
separate exclusionary list would only counter diversity.  In life, love,
and work, I have always believed in the benefits of diversity.  We must
continue to apply diversity to this list and keep it open, since that is
our best hope to insure the continual free flow of information.  But
please think twice before you post.  Please?

The problems aren't solely evident on the BMW list.  This is an Internet
problem, and the BMW list is simply another casualty, a statistic.  I'm
not suggesting that we can solve it ourselves. I'm just noting how the
list has lost some of its attraction for me, which may explain why I'm not
posting so much right now.  But this can change - I finally found a new
(to me) car... 8^)

Have great holidays.  Surf gently.  And please wear your seatbelt.

Regards,
 .steve.
1983 528e, 232k miles
1987 528e, 73k miles (soon, hopefully)
- ------------------------Mobilitaet ist Leben------------------------
Steven J. Bernstein                       Home: bernstein@domain.elided
P.O. Box 11242                            Work:    bernstein@domain.elided
Hauppauge, NY 11788 USA      __________   Home:     (1) 718 740 7411
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