[nndl] Fw: [NNADL] Why so many lists?Maybe related- Sebastian, This is a tough question. There are multiple constituencies and multiple channels. If those things have to be maintained, then part of the equation is figuring out the lengths to which people will go to make an effort to stay informed. For what it's worth, I'm subscribed to all three lists, and I had no trouble following the information on the NA web site about the different lists. I realize not everyone is willing to go to that effort though and perhaps should not be asked to. (It's habit for me and part of my job -- different lists -- anyway). What IS confusing as a reader is when questions are posted to both lists, answers to one or the other, and it's not always consistent. Some consolidation does seem to be in order. There are some options for dealing with the issue of "Northfield Only" vs. "N. and surrounding neighborhoods." One common option that lets readers scan subject lines and filter things they aren't interested in is to use tags at the beginning of the subject line. For example: [NORTHFIELD]Subject Bapi's site offers RSS feeds, which is technology my customers have responded well to. Another thing many lists do is send out monthly "administrative" messages. These contain reminders about common protocols, options for subscribers, etc. One list I subscribe to also asks users to do certain things as list participants, like cropping the number of lines duplicated from the previous messages. Another thing the NA can look at is procedures for circumstances such as the past few weeks. While the rules may require 8 days of notice within a certain distance of a site that is coming up for a variance, clearly more communication is required sometimes. (I am a communication professional. Trust me, everything comes down to "a communication problem". :-) ) When there's an issue that is going to impact a lot of people, it is best to communicate as widely as possible. Now, previously you've had little involvement from neighbors, so perhaps it wasn't practical to expect you to volunteer AGAIN to walk door-to-door. But now perhaps there are some things that can be done beyond consolidating the lists. Such as: 1. Have a up-to-date news section on the NA web site that posts late-breaking events and things that are happening between the newsletters. 2. The RSS feed on Bapi's site can be consumed by the NA web site. 3. Go low-tech and have additional signs (like the ones that go out before the monthly meetings) that point people to the web site for important information. 4. Post flyers in the coffee houses and other community bulletin boards. The NA could also do regular tracking--as much as possible--of subscriber counts, and perhaps have metrics for getting new subscribers periodically. This is a lot and I've ranged beyond the question of the e-mail lists, but in my experience, this isn't just a problem of consolidating lists. I've spent a lot of time figuring out how to do some of these things at UT in a complex environment and had some amount of success. I'm happy to contribute to a solution for this problem. Thoughts? Lisa Wright -----Forwarded Message----- >First things first, how many e-mail lists do we need? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tags:
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