Re: [sc-users] Future of the lists

On 11 Jun 2021, at 08:18, rohrhuber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

I see that this is not easy to decide.

Indeed!

First, thank you so much, Scott, for doing all the invisible work. I wasn't aware that moderating has been tedious, and it reminds me that in volunteer work it is important to have a way of load balancing. It is a shame that my institution can't offer support; we should have thought about it before it is too late. Our tacit principle is that the do-er decides, so yes.

It’s not so much that it’s tedious, though there is that, especially as the software used is antiquated and requires increasing amounts of busy work. It’s also just that I don’t have time to read everything anymore, and that occasionally the role has made me (or the uni here) the target of some aggressive and unpleasant accusations, which is tiring. I’ve really tried to balance the concerns of the community, and play a role of peacekeeper when I can. I’m not naive and I know those kind of misinterpretations come with the territory, but it takes patience, and the last year has made me pretty aware of what an in-demand resource patience can be!

It’s the same with the institution really. People think of unis as nodes of resources that could be shared (I agree!), but they are also very much people; in this case, people who are stretched very thin just trying to maintain the basics under a terrible situation. I can’t really blame them that mailing list and archive software supporting only a handful of mostly internal lists is not a high priority right now.

Anyway, I don’t want to grumble too much. Mostly its been work I’ve been glad to have!

The conversations are different here. It would be ideal if one could not end this list, but just emulate it through discourse. But I haven't found a way to make the mailing list mode work, so I don't know if this is possible.

It should be! This could be an opportunity to raise the priority of that mode.

I could still try and arrange something with JISCmail or somewhere, or someone else could, though again it would be manual migration by each user so not a straightforward shift. But I don't get the sense that there is any balance of opinion towards that.

I learned so much here.

This is what I have loved about these lists! Also, I’ve made so many friends, met collaborators, found ways to learn and grow and make exciting music together! SC has been a big part of my life, and the lists have always been the home of that for me. That feeling of love and community is why I’ve been happy to do this for so long. But again it’s ultimately the people here that make up that, not the format or delivery method, and change can be good. Closing the lists makes me personally sad, but that doesn’t mean the future isn’t bright.

Anyway, thank you to everyone for the kind words. They really do mean a lot, as has the chance to share experience, ideas, and music with all of you!