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Some members of this group are still confused about the concept of the "list
owner" so I feel I should take one post to describe what it is and what it
is not.

Myself and Dan Allen are the "managers" of NavList. Technically, MY position
is "list owner" though it is not significantly different from list manager
(except that I have the 'nuclear option', see below).

The expression "list owner" dates from the early days of the Internet. A
"mailing list" was one of the earliest forms of online collaboration and
group discussion. Mailing lists are now somewhat archaic though still
relatively popular in academia. Note that NavList is a "mailing list" only
in part since it is quite possible to follow every discussion and contribute
without using email, and there are many group members who do just that. A
"mailing list" was nothing more than a system for distributing plain text
messages to multiple recipients by sending and replying to a single "list"
address. Mailing lists are hosted on a particular server which handles the
traffic and makes sure that only members can send messages out to the group.
The list management software (sometimes "listserv") on the server has
various settings which are controlled by one or more managers. The settings
are simple addministrative functions like allowing "digest emails" and
attaching the group name at the front of each message (for example, the
"[NavList nnnn]" tag on messages can be turned on or off). The first
manager, usually the one who signs up for the list initially, is called the
"list owner". There is no actual "ownership" involved and list owners do not
get any special powers (except on fully moderated lists where messages must
be approved before they distribute).

A list owner is not a sheriff, not an overlord, not a chairman, not a
president, not a leader, and not an "owner" by any normal English meaning of
the word.

The managers of any online community, including "list owners", have
responsibilities and work to do. This consists in helping members manage
their memberships (for example, I get about one request per month to swap a
member's email to a different address, and I am happy to do that), trying to
ensure that 'spam' does not get distributed (the server does most of this
but Dan and I have to slog through some of it), interacting with the
software, and rarely people, who manage the servers where the community is
hosted, investigating and attempting to resolve any anomalous behavior (e.g.
a message on 4 July which carried no message number but should have been
number 5688), and trying to arrange the few optional settings that are
available so that they are convenient for the group. In other words, it is
an UNPAID position of "I.T." management and support.

But wait, can't a list owner 'spank' members when they're bad? No. There are
no powers of punishment, no powers to enforce any rules. In an unmoderated
discussion group, there are no such powers.

But wait, can't a list owner "ban" people? No. In the VERY early days of the
online world, this was possible since email addresses were difficult to
acquire (and expensive) and generally uniquely associated with one
individual. But this has not been the case for well over a decade. It is
technically possible to ban an email address, but this serves no purpose
since anyone can sign on in less than two minutes with a new email address.

But wait, can't a list owner annihilate the group? YES! The nuclear option!
This is such a powerful power. Actually, if you think about it, it's a
purely administrative power, useful only when the group transfers to a new
server. Some might imagine that it could be used to destroy the entire
discussion group. That's not the case because it is trivially easy to
re-launch. Picture this scenario: a list owner throws a fit, kills a group,
and takes his ball and goes home to sulk. List members soon discover that
their group is GONE! Then someone with a brain realizes that the group
consists of the members, not the server. So whoever thinks of it first
simply starts a fresh group (this is trivially easy on googlegroups, just to
name one example). That individual then signs up all the email addresses
available from the previous list (this would miss lurkers and passive
members who would have to find their own way, presumably by emailing people
that they know in the earlier group) and the discussion group is back in
business in a few hours. So even that seemingly important power, the nuclear
option, is no power at all.

But wait, can't a list owner control attachment policy? This one is a 'yes'
with qualifications. Some software for managing groups provides extensive
controls over this sort of thing. The software driving googlegroups (which
currently hosts NavList) does not. But in any case, I consider this
something that group members will manage all by themselves. There has been a
steady rise in the size and number of attachments in the past few months. I
haven't seen any complaints. If anyone is bothered, speak up and say so.
That's your best defense against an overstuffed mailbox. From my own
perspective, unless you think that everyone on NavList deserves their very
own copy of some large document, it's a good idea to save big files for
private emails.

But wait, isn't the list owner also in charge of the archive at
www.fer3.com/arc? That is something that I do on my own without any
connection to list management (and btw, you can thank Dan Allen for
storehousing messages from the early days of the group which are now
incorporated into the archive).

But wait, didn't the list owner use his "powers" to organize two Navigation
Weekends at Mystic Seaport? That is something that I have done on my own
without any connection to list management.

So that's that. Sorry to be off-topic. I do not need any replies to this
message, and I am sure that other group members would be annoyed by further
discussion of this sort of "administrivia."

By the way, I do understand that some folks accustomed to traditional
hierarchical organizations find this concept of a list "owner" who owns
nothing rather confusing. Hence this message. But a few of you have had this
all explained to you SEVERAL times, and you still don't get it. It's your
responsibility to learn, not anyone else's.

 -FER



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Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc
To post, email NavList@fer3.com
To , email NavList-@fer3.com
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