Re: [nndl] Why so many lists?

-
To respond privately, use the "Reply" command.
To post to the list "Forward" to [at]
-

I agree. We're not going to please everyone but a forum with options
for receiving each email or a new thread/post/ digest etc seems much
more organized and effective.

The NLPT is a yahoo group which has over 800 messages documenting
previous discussions. Wouldn't hurt here either.

greg jason burch wrote:

- To respond privately, use the "Reply" command. To post
to the list "Forward" to [at]
-

Sebastian, This experience has revealed several problems to me, and
with the rest

of my tenure as president of the neighborhood association, I'd like to

address some of these problems.

First things first, how many e-mail
lists do we need?

I have a suggestion there, but if there is one
thing that really gets under my skin it is when someone makes a
"suggestion" to me which is intended to make their lives far more
convenient while making mine far less.  I am therefore going to state
in advance that I will help to implement the following idea if it is
regarded as a good one.

The NNA has a web site.  How about we improve it,
and include a legitimate discussion forum on that website.  You open up
the discussion forum and there is a list of threads organizing the
various discussions:  "Howard's Nursery Development"; "Neighborhood Crime"; "Skyview Variance Request".

When someone starts a new thread, I get a single
e-mail that says "New Thread.  Ridgetop Fundraiser".  When a thread is
active, I get a single e-mail that says "New Post.  Neighborhood
Crime".  I get a single e-mail no matter how many posts are added to
that thread, and I only get a new e-mail when posts are made after
my last log in.

Anyone can read the forum, but only residents can
comment.  (You have a new members login that requires a physical as
well as e-mail address to join.)  If you are worried about prying
eyes--i.e., developers whose motives we are cynically discussing--then
be reminded that if they are savvy enough to snoop through the future
NNA forum, then they are probably savvy enough to go to the NNA website
today and simply sign up for the nndl.

You preserve entire discussions in the cache, so
that when someone eventually complains that neighborhood projects "were
kept secret from them", they can be referred to a thread that details
the entire debate that occurred long before they began paying attention.

Save the lists for the "free kittens" and "Does
anyone know a plumber" e-mails, but keep the critical debates in the
forum.

I have a business and a home in the neighborhood,
and I am interested in relevant events that are happening around me.  I
would like to be informed about development and crime from Hyde Park to
Skyview, I-35 to Lamar.  I have already made up my mind about the
Howard's Nursery project, but I received a discouraging onslaught
of e-mails over the weekend from people trying to make up other
people's minds.  There has got to be a better way to go about this to
promote new membership and new opinions.  At the very least, we would
be an organized haggling fracas as opposed to a bunch of
amateur squabblers.

This would take some work to execute.  Again, I
would be more than willing to take the lead on the project.

Everyone have a nice day.                    Jason

---

From:  "Sebastian Wren"
[at]

Reply-To:   [at]

To:   [at] , "'HoodDiscussion'"
[at] , "'NLPT Chat-line'"
[at]

Subject:  [nndl] Why so many lists?

Date:  Tue, 2 Oct 2007 21:22:39 -0500

>-

>  To respond privately, use the "Reply" command.

>  To post to the list "Forward" to [at]

>-

>

>

>So it looks like the battle over the development is more or less
over,

>so now I'd like to turn to the question, "how do we stop this

>foolishness from happening again."

>

>This experience has revealed several problems to me, and with the
rest

>of my tenure as president of the neighborhood association, I'd like
to

>address some of these problems.

>

>First things first, how many e-mail lists do we need?

>

>It helps to know some of the history behind the lists that we have.

>

>NLNPT -- the North Loop Planning Team is a group created by the
city to

>help with the creation of the neighborhood plan.  (The city is
still in

>the process of creating these neighborhood planning teams across
Austin

>-- ours was among the very first ever created.)  The NLNPT has
active

>members from several different neighborhoods --
Morningside-Ridgetop,

>Northfield, and Skyview.  To be on NLNPT, you are supposed to be an

>active member of the NLNPT (meaning you actually go to the
meetings).

>Information posted to the NLNPT discussion list is SUPPOSED to be
for

>planning team issues.

>

>NNDL -- A guy I have never met named Bapi created this discussion
forum

>as part of the planning team activity, and he continues to maintain
it

>to this day.  I've talked to him through e-mail, and he seems like a

>very nice guy.  Bapi created the NNDL as a discussion forum for
people

>who live in this general area - Morningside-Ridgetop, Northfield,

>Skyview.  Really anybody interested in this general part of Austin
could

>join.  I have no idea how many people are on NNDL -- maybe Bapi
could

>answer that.

>

>NNADL -- I'm afraid this one is my brain-child.  I thought it made
sense

>to have a discussion list specifically for the Northfield
Neighborhood

>Association.  I created it when I created the website
NorthfieldNA.org.

>The NNADL was intended to be a discussion forum that we could
monitor

>and control -- a discussion list for issues related specifically to
the

>Northfield Neighborhood.  We advertise the NNADL in the NNA
newsletter,

>and people can sign up through our website.  I just checked, and it
has

>115 people on it right now.

>

>SO -- if people think we have too many lists, then we need to decide

>which one we should keep.

>

>The NLNPT is staying -- that's not negotiable.  That one is just for

>active members of the planning team.

>

>The NNDL has been very generously supported by Bapi for years, and
it

>has been a great forum.  But it is intended for a fairly wide
audience

>(geographically speaking).  During the "great debate" we have had
in the

>past month about Koenig development, residents in
Morningside-Ridgetop

>have had to endure a slew of e-mail about a development that may
not be

>that interesting to them.

>

>I was also a little creeped out when Jamil called me and told me
that

>somebody was offering to subscribe him to our discussion list so
that he

>could monitor what we were saying.  I know that couldn't happen
with the

>NNADL because the only people who can subscribe him to that list
are me

>and the webmasters.  (It turns out it doesn't really matter because
he

>could still monitor all of our discussions on Bapi's website if he

>wanted to... Anybody in the world can check out what we're saying on

>that site.)

>

>So, if we are going to have one forum for all of our discussions,
which

>one will it be?

>

>____________________________________________

>Sebastian Wren, Ph.D.

>Director

>

>

>

>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in messages are solely that of the
author

>and not of the list administrators nor Druma Inc (sponsor
14gram.com).

>Website: Northfield Neighborhood Assoc -

>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>Unsubscribe & "howto" info, send a blank email to
[at]

>-

---

More
photos; more messages; more whatever. Windows Live Hotmail - NOW with
5GB storage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in messages are solely that of the
author
and not of the list administrators nor Druma Inc (sponsor 14gram.com).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe & "howto" info, send a blank email to
[at]
-

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in messages are solely that of the author
and not of the list administrators nor Druma Inc (sponsor 14gram.com).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe & "howto" info, send a blank email to [at]
-