[C320-list] Mailing List or Forum

[Sean Kaldor]

I've been following all the discussions about using a forum versus using a discussion list to keep C320 International Association members in contact.

I'll start of by sincerely thanking everyone for bringing the idea forward, and weighing in with their various ideas and concerns. This entire organization is simply an association of our members, and together we can evolved and grow the C320IA in any direction desired. Your Association officers all welcome members to come forward with such suggestions. 

I've come to understand that our members greatly appreciate the value of being able to communicate with each other. Some are active posters, but many passively read the discussions or search past posts. Whether people are discussing current events, maintenance issues, upgrades, or any variety of issues, this is a huge value for all of us.

In the past, we have tried various other formats, and have met with problematic results, as our webmaster Jeff Hare documented. Losing all prior posts and your domain name has a huge impact on the Association. Given the stability of our current system, it is fitting that we set a high hurdle when considering any change.

The concern about the discussion list's large volume of messages is valid - this group shouldn't flood your inbox. Eliminating that would be the key benefit of moving to a forum format. Another benefit is that discussions could be organized into topics, and it would be easier to review prior discussions to look for answers to questions that have been asked in the past.

The other comments are also all valid. There is also an 'ebb' and 'flow' to the volume of messages. (I recall someone posting in winter (Northern Hemisphere) to ask if the list was still working because there had been no posts for almost a week!) The need to log in and out of a separate forum is yet another Internet hassle for many of our members. There is an administrative workload associated with moderating a forum, and your association is already operating without a Vice Commodore (any volunteers!!!!????) and your webmaster has a long list of association projects. The ability to search past posts provides some of the benefits of a forum, namely an ability to get answers to questions that have been asked in the past. And selecting the "digest" format should limit emails to one, or possibly two per day during the peak of the sailing season (and one every other day during the rest of the year).

Based upon the pros and cons, the feedback voiced by Association members on this topic, the evaluation of our Webmaster, and upon consultation with your Association officers, at this time we will retain the current email discussion list format.

With great appreciation,

Sean
Commodore C320IA