[PUP] Owners Groups - open or closed?

[Peter Pisciotta]

> I started a west
> coast Camano forum.  When
> I asked the other owners if they wanted an open or
> closed forum the vast majority said they 
> preferred a closed one.  

> I can't tell you the rational
> employed on the Nordhavn Owners forum, but I can
> tell you 95% of the discussion is "I want to 
> run a cable 

> But guess what? 
> They post the same stuff on
> PUP!  

Patrick offered a nice post about the Willard list,
and we are indeed an open list. We had a minor
discussion a few years ago about whether we should
close our membership, however it died quickly.
Personally, I'd leave the list the moment it closed.

I am steadfastly against closed lists for topics like
this. Why? Transparency. And the stench of elitist,
cliquish bavavoir is overwhelming. (Obviously, I have
very strong opinions). In 5-years and 8000 posts, WBO
rarely has an off-topic post - we've banned about 2
people, one a broker who made a ridiculous ploy to
hawk a twin diesel Egg Harbor sport fisher on the
list. We have our share of uncomfortable topics (we
love our boats despite a few common blemishes), and
there are disagreements, but it's all boat related,
and almost always Willard related.

I have seen absolutely ZERO reason to close a list to
'owners only' and a million reasons to have it open.
It helps build community, solve problems, assure
newbies have the right expectations, develop pride,
correct history, and so many other items that have
general interest. 

I don't know how many of our 520+ members recieve
daily emails, how many receive daily digests, and how
many receive no contact. It's their decision what
level they participate. We have many members who join
for a while, then delete their membership because 40
emails on a single topic taxes their patience. 

Even if the information is the same as is posted
elsewhere, our members are grown-ups and can decide
what's best for themselves. We're talking boats here -
not trade secrets. 

It's hard not to view a closed list of this nature as
elitist. And that's just not me - I've always liked
the Groucho Marx "I'd never join a club that would
have as a member"

Peter
Willard 36 Sedan
A "Utility Trawler" for a utilitarian guy.