[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

a response to no response



On this issue of responding directly to a person asking a general question
and not the list is not how this list works and grows.   I've been on this
list for years (5/6??) and many other people have also and many of them
you'll never hear from because they have been reading answers that are
posted and some time re-posted many times too.  How many times have we heard
the color of water issue come up, or which light is best?  If we didn't
answer all the questions on and to the list we have to kill the Archives
also, it will only be filled with unanswered questions.
I have spent many  hours  scanning the list for issues that may interest me
and I would say that only 2 or 5% of this list does, ( when I first started
it 100%).  But once something comes up I look for someone else's answers.
Back in July there was a question that may have helped the person asking
about this issue of not answering questions on the list;   Mon, 05 Jul 1999,
"Roger Miller's questions about theories on aquascaping were timely for me,
as my own tank's redesign has been stalled for weeks."  by lovell
<lovell/drizzle.com>.  There are many new people who also may learn as I did
from this list and it's answers, they may read 90% of the list daily.  If we
(the ones who are actively involved in plants that work), only answered the
general question directly to the person asking and not to the list then we
would see would more space taken up by other poeple asking the same question
over and over again because they could never saw the first answer., "What
about those Jobe's plant spikes that he asked about?"  "What about the Crom
50 lights compared to the 75?"
I've seen this question/issue come up a couple of times in the past and get
killed, I hope this gets killed again. The issue of changing how this list
is sent out or viewed comes up about twice a year also, I wish the same fate
for that issue too. If this would happen we would only have a elitist list
that would deal only in highly tech. questions like, "What is your idea on
gene splitting to change the color or growth rate of a plant?" (Yes it is
being done, for those that are wondering.).  Well I've taken up too much
space a time with this issue now it's time to fall back and read a few more
questions and some answers or my pleasure.    JiM C.
At 03:48 PM 2/29/2000 -0500, Sherman Lovell asked:
>When someone posts to the list with a specific, individual problem, the
response
>to which is of less than general interest [asking for a source of KNO3 or
Jobe's Spikes
>in Seattle, for example], could you please just e-mail them directly
>with your offer of assistance?  I think that this would improve the
>signal-to-noise ratio on the list.

I would really like to hear the list's input on this (notice that I changed
the example and used square brackets to show that).  Does your LFS have the
planted tank supplies you need?  I am very lucky, I have a great LFS, but
it doesn't have most of what I need.

How do you all feel?
- --
Dave Gomberg, San Francisco            mailto:gomberg at wcf_com
Jobe's Fern and Palm Spikes FREE        http://www.wcf.com/pam