[PUP] Open vs Closed E-Mail lists (ex: Nordhavn 55 weblog?)

[John Marshall]

The closure of the various Nordhavn lists (main list plus model- 
specific lists) is simply democracy at work... I've seen the issue  
come up for discussion several times on various lists, and the members  
have always voted for keeping them closed. That said, some are open to  
vendors, and some lists aren't even open to Nordhavn management, only  
owners.

There are thousands of lists on every conceivable topic across the  
Net, with many of them having membership criteria, so I see nothing  
unusual here.

What I do notice is that the depth of model-specific technical data is  
outstanding, and the discussions of various vendors and strategies for  
dealing with issues is very frank and helpful on the narrower, more  
tightly controlled lists, at least as compared to the open lists I  
also monitor. Naming of names, if you wish, that isn't appropriate on  
open lists. We often have a dozen or more owners contributing valuable  
information to a single topic. The communications model on some lists  
is that of a bunch of guys talking about boats over a few beers in a  
corner of the bar.

While I generally favor open lists, the quality difference I see in  
posting content is worth the compromise, at least to me.

PUP, of course, remains outstanding and open, as long as passage- 
making is the topic.

John Marshall
Serendipity - N5520


On Feb 20, 2008, at 9:03 AM, Peter Pisciotta wrote:

>> Too bad  they [Nordhavn] won't open it [email list]
>> up as I'm sure there's a lot of good info
>> there.
>
> The Willard Boat Owners list is about to turn 8-years
> old, 9053 messages (about 100 per month now), and 555
> members (including dead email addresses).
>
> We have always been open to all who are interested:
> owner, wannabe, whatever. A scan of recent topics
> includes Willard 40 water tankage (around 300
> gallons); removing concrete ballast from a Willard 36;
> why many Willard 30's have a slight starboard list
> (batteries); replacing a stuffing box on a Willard 36.
> All tolled, there were about 225 production Willards
> built, most were 30-footers.
>
> The WBO list is self-moderating for the most part -
> even with 555 members. We've had 4 or 5 instances of
> spam, 2 or 3 instances of inappropriate advertising
> posts (a memorable post by a broker selling a 45-foot
> Egg Harbor sport fisher, for example), all leading to
> about 5 banned members (including the Egg Harbor
> broker). Not bad for 8-years, 555 members, 9000+
> messages. While I understand the fear of having an
> open list, our expereince just hasn't supported those
> fears. Certainly makes me wonder whether 'advertising'
> is really the reason why a group decides to be closed.
>
> I'm not sure why a non-Willard enthusiast would want
> to be part of our discussion given the mundane topics,
> but our membership clearly wants that decision to be
> made by the member, not the membership: the list is be
> open to all comers. Personally, even as erstwhile
> moderator, I'm vociferously against a closed list
> because it has a 'clubby' feel that I'm uncomfortable
> with. But I'm the Groucho Marx type of joiner:
> wouldn't want to be part of a club that would have
> someone like me as a member. I don't think the WBO
> will ever close its ranks, but if it does, I'll be the
> first to delete my membership.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WillardBoatOwners/
> (Must join Yahoo Groups to participate in any
> Yahoo-hosted email group)
>
> Peter
> Willard 36 Sedan
> San Francisco
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