[email protected]

I'm feeling guilty for having sent a couple of posts back and asking people
to wait to post, so I'd like to appeal to everyone at once.

It's a big list, and some people drop off just because of the volume of
e-mail.

Please try to avoid really short chit-chat greetings, as there are over 1300
list members. Please read for a week or two before jumping in, especially if
you're very new to unschooling.

We're not trying to be mean with this policy, we're trying to keep peace and
save energy (new people's, respondents', and readers' all).

For people who are anxious for unschooling information quickly, you might go
into the archives of this list, to unschooling.com's message board, or to
follow links at my webpage. Addresses are below:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnschoolingDiscussion/

http://www.unschooling.com/cgi/discus/board-newmessages.cgi

http://sandradodd.com/unschooling

Thanks!

Sandra

catherine aceto

Sandra, can you clarify what this part of your post meant-- "Please try to avoid really short chit-chat greetings, as there are over 1300 list members."

Do you mean only "greetings" - like "oh, mary! how good to see you here!!" or did you mean any post that doesn't contain any substance? For example, when Kathryn wrote that we had a separate list to discuss your typos and I wrote something like "lol or giggle" is my comment the sort of thing you would like people not to post?

-Cat


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/8/04 7:16:21 AM, aceto3@... writes:

<< "Please try to avoid really short chit-chat greetings, as there are over
1300 list members."

<<Do you mean only "greetings" - like "oh, mary! how good to see you here!!"
or did you mean any post that doesn't contain any substance? For example,
when Kathryn wrote that we had a separate list to discuss your typos and I wrote
something like "lol or giggle" is my comment the sort of thing you would like
people not to post?
>>

If it's about me, leave it in.

JUST JOKING.

It's easy for new members not to realize how high the normal volume of mail
is, or not to know how big a list is, if they just join because their friend
said "come on over!" Any totally-local stuff (me talking to someone about the
meeting here on Friday would be no good) or "I'm glad to be here" with no
more substance (especially if they quote a whole long post along with it) and
things like that are best combined with useful information. If we wait until we
have something interesting to say and then combine our chit-chat with that, it
will be better for those people receiving digests (fewer digests will arrive,
and will be richer in content) and those receiving individual e-mails, and
those reading at the site (less opening and closing to find something good).

Some chit-chat is inevitable. I've seen some lists seem to be nothing BUT
chit-chat and this one can't even begin to go that direction with (checking for
current count...) 1371 members.

Sandra