Proposition: Upgrade APP to an Online Community

This list is great, but this list is crazy (and constantly acting like a patient off their meds').
Why is this?
I participate in a lot of lists and online groups. I've noticed, very few have the ability to make blood boil/run cold like this list. It seems to come in waves. But that's passion for you. The reason I stay subscribed to this list is mostly because of the vast wealth of experience and talent found here, with few exceptions. Most of those exceptions are people like me -- those just trying to learn something (maybe one day I'll be able to teach others a thing or two who knows).
  The problem is this: the alt-photo-process list is a one-room school house, and it's getting crowded. Can you imagine a campus where they threw the agriculture and fine-art faculty together in the same building? With no walls?! Never mind the rest of the faculties! There's a reason they put them in different areas. (By my second year I found out it's mostly, it's so they don't try to murder one another, or accidentally sleep with a student from the wrong faculty).
  Lately, I've been noticing that the competition to this list (read: alternativephotography.com and APUG) are becoming stronger and stronger. Why is this? Could it be that interest in the subject of alt photography is growing? I have nothing agaist either of the aforementioned organizations, in fact I revel in them. Nothing wrong with a little competition, it's suppose to keep us on our toes, right?
  I touched on the problem once before. Mail lists are an older technology. Pre world wide web. Not an older photographic technology (which we love), but an older tele-communications technology (somebody else's bag o' fun no doubt, but not mine).
  The list needs new digs. It can be kept as a mail list for those that want to subscribe and receive e-mails, but branch out and embrace the trend toward web-based online discussion groups/communities. They offer features which would enhance the alt photo process community. Technologically, this could go in one of two directions. The first would be to use an existing commercial system (e.g. yahoo groups) to host the community. The benefits would be that there would be a miminum of fuss, cost and a standard set of features. The down side is sovereignty, a word that touches a nerve here in Canada at least. Or, it could be a system similar to the ArsDigita software ie. photo.net, apug, or alternativephotography.com. Run it as a independent not-for-profit DOT-ORG with a board of directors, charge $10-$20 (voluntary) a year to join which could go toward covering back-end expenses like storage and upgrades.
 The big advantage besides online galleries. Online forums. A simple way of keeping the pigs, sheep and cows from eating from the second year class' mixed media project called "Godel, Escher and Skittles" or whatever.
 There are things which make this community unique, but it's not the software that runs the mail system. I wish I could put it to a vote right now...but there's no way to do this.

~m
Received on Tue Apr 25 18:35:58 2006