[K12OSN] 853 unread messages...

[David Trask]

I happen to agree...I'm worried that in a forum we'll lose a little of
that sense of community.  I used a mail client (FirstClass) that allows me
to sort all these messages into a folder.  I have a folder on my email
desktop called K12OS and in that is all of the messages from this list
grouped by thread going from last modified to oldest.  I too often just
read for the sake of reading and I have come up with some great ideas as a
result of other people's posts.  I may not have the problem initially, but
it may come up and I know who to talk to in the future.  For example: 
I've been on here long enough to know that if I have a Compaq machine with
a problem....I need to get in touch with Bert Roylston....or if it's
E-Smith/SME....many people come to mind like Les Mikesell.....if it's
netbooting or etherbooting Macs.....Chuck Leibow or Shawn Powers spring to
mind....and so forth.  I get this not so much because I need it, but I'm
able to glean that info from reading the list.  A forum might allow me to
"skip" too much and I'd lose out on lots of info.  I just make some time
at various points during the day to peruse the subject lines and read a
few messages...if I see a topic has gone nowhere for the most part I move
on.  That's just my $.02  However, if I were going to a forum....I might
take a look at Phorum.


"Support list for opensource software in schools." <k12osn at redhat.com>
writes:
>> So I've been looking for a forum package that integrates with email
>> lists, and FUDforum seems to meet the bill. If so, it could turn a
>> mailing list into an easily searchable, up-to-date archive, to which you
>> can post either by email or web access.  
>-snip-
>
>I'm going to contribute to this discussion, not because I have a great
>deal of knowledge in this area, simply because I have an interest in
>knowledge systems ... and I'm an opinionated bore ;-)
>
>I've got a lot out of this list over the past 18mnths simply because it
>_IS_ so diverse.  Someone's OT message may spark my interest and I'll
>look at a web site or three that would never have come to my attention
>before.  Restrict this list to specific topic groupings and I would
>never have that exposure because I have too much to read already and so
>little time.  On the other hand, force me to look at something and I
>usually go "Oh yeh, that's got to be useful" or I just skip over it.  As
>for the vexed question of accessing all that unstructured and
>(seemingly) disparate information, then all I can do is repeat that
>well-worn phrase, "Google is your friend".  I've actually ended up
>subscribing to lists that I've never heard of after a web search led to
>an answer on a mailing list.  


David N. Trask
Technology Teacher/Coordinator
Vassalboro Community School
dtrask at vcs.u52.k12.me.us
(207)923-3100