At 05:17 PM 12/13/2004, Ray Hernandez wrote:
>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>Hash: SHA1
>
>       This is going to be a dupe to Brian, since my mailer reply's to the
>user and not the list. :)
>
>       I don't think Ed was proposing a replacement for the mailing list. I
>think it could be a useful resource to enhance the mailing list. An IRC
>chatroom could be viewed as an alternative way to relate to other nag
>members. I agree that the mailing list archives are a great resource
>that I can search around in, and I would hate to see them go away, but
>there are those times when I am looking for some quick info on a
>question I have that may not warrant filling someone's inbox with.
>
>       I would hope that nag members would not see this as something trying to
>replace a mailing list, but something that allows a user to exchange
>information/ideas/opinions in a more informal manner.
>- --Ray

What can a person communicate via a chatroom that can't be communicated just as efficiently, if not more so, via e-mail?   I would not want such a thing used in my shop precisely because the things that should be recorded in e-mail would be less likely to become part of the record.   We computer geeks have a hard enough time documenting our work as it is.   And why worry about filling an inbox?   E-mail storage is cheap these days.   I have probably 15 years worth of e-mails around -- I hardly delete anything (other than spam) and it's not in any way a threat to my disk space resources.

Each time I touch that chatroom type of communication I come away more puzzled than ever as to why so many people like it.   People say try it, you'll like it.   I've tried it.  Each time I do I like it less.    I guess it's just one of the great mysteries of the universe.

John Gorentz
W.K. Kellogg Biological Station