Discussion: View Thread

The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.

Larry E. Pate
University of Wisconsin-Madison

On 11 Mar 98 at 16:20, Dutch Driver wrote:

> Luckily, there is the digested version of a listserv that provides an
> alternative to single messages. However, there is a drawback to the
> digested version. I believe that a digest user is discouraged from
> interaction and promoted to use a lurking mode where the delete key is
> easier to deal with than the response key.

This is the most popular discussion I've seen <grin>. If the issue is
separating the relevant from the irrelevant, using a digest mode is
probably the most time consuming (for me) method. One has to page
down past the messages one isn't interested in to get to the one's
one IS interested in. It's much faster to have single messages and
simply delete based on the topic/first few lines.

I'm afraid volume is part of internet resources that are fulfilling
their purpose, which is to allow people to interact.

Robert Bacal, Inst.For Cooperative Communication, rbacal@escape.ca
Visit our Resource Centre for articles on mgmt.,training,communication, and defusing hostility
at http://www.escape.ca/~rbacal (204) 888-9290

Larry, et al,

For those of you who have mail filtering on your mail software, I've
found the following to be very effective:

1. Turn off the digest so you receive individual messages.

2. Create a mail filter that keys on the text "MG-ED-DV" which shows up
in the subject header of every message from the list.

3. Route the filtered mail directly from your inbox to a folder
dedicated to the discussion list (mine goes to a folder named MG-ED-DV).
If this is done properly, the messages don't sit in your main inbox, but
go directly into the folder.

4. Open the folder of filtered mail when time permits and read only
those messages that appear of interest--deleting all others.

I've found this setup works very well. I'm on three high-volume lists,
but by filtering the mail directly to separate folders, I can avoid
having my main inbox inundated. And if I get too far behind, I can
simply delete all the messages in a folder and start again.

Hope this helps.

Ken
--
Ken A. Smith
Associate Professor
School of Management
Syracuse University


Larry Pate wrote:
>
> The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
> considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
> see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
> if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
> list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
> specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
> this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
> concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.
>
> Larry E. Pate
> University of Wisconsin-Madison

My earlier comment in part reflected Larry's point. I've received several
private replies which agree with my point, and with Larry. Tim Edlund

On Wed, 11 Mar 1998, Larry Pate wrote: [in part]

> The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
> considerable time commitment just to keep up with it.
> . . , I am wondering
> if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
> list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
> specialty topics?

At 12:02 PM 3/11/98 -0600, you wrote:
>The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
>considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
>see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
>if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
>list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
>specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
>this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
>concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.
>
>Larry E. Pate
>University of Wisconsin-Madison
>I agree. I just joined the list a week ago and am already thinking of
dropping out because I can't deal with the volume.
Irene Duhaime
Irene M. Duhaime
Associate Dean for External Relations
Fogelman College of Business and Economics
The University of Memphis
Memphis TN 38152
901-678-2457 (direct)
901-678-3759 (fax)
iduhaime@cc.memphis.edu

I'd have to agree with Larry's thoughts. I've toyed with the idea of
unsubscribing from this list, not due to lack of quality, but rather,
shear volume constraints. I know that I only have so much time in a day
to read, respond and delete the onslaught of emails that come into my
system.

I suggest a little constraint on the part of listserve participants.

Thanks,
Kevin Fletcher

Larry Pate wrote:
>
> The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
> considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
> see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
> if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
> list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
> specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
> this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
> concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.
>
> Larry E. Pate
> University of Wisconsin-Madison

Thank you Larry,
My first response since joining. I am considering "un-subscribing"
since there is so much email traffic that I simply don't have the time to
keep up with it. Some comments I find very interesting, and a lot of others
I simply trash. Sheldon..

At 12:02 PM 3/11/98 -0600, you wrote:
>The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
>considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
>see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
>if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
>list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
>specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
>this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
>concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.
>
>Larry E. Pate
>University of Wisconsin-Madison
>
>

I cannot judge what your experience level is with listservs, but I suggest
that you use a similar approach to reading listserv that one would use to
a daily newspaper. Establishment of the criteria for selective reading is
a habit that takes a while to develop on-line. Afterall, many of us are
used to a digested version of information provided by news editors and
anchors who use formulaic devices like headlines and previews to aid in
our selection of pertinent information.

Luckily, there is the digested version of a listserv that provides an
alternative to single messages. However, there is a drawback to the
digested version. I believe that a digest user is discouraged from
interaction and promoted to use a lurking mode where the delete key is
easier to deal with than the response key.


______________________
Great Optimism,

Dutch Driver
Abilene, TX
Hm. Telephone: 915.698.7217
mailto:ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu

I, too, have had this problem with the flood of inputs from MG-ED-DV.

As a classroom teacher, I've suspected that the problem is between the
MG-ED and the MG-DV halves of this group.

While it would admittedly be a loss, it might also be more manageable if
we could somehow split off (into a separate listserv?) the folks who are
interested in Training & Development, Org. Development & Change, and the
occasional O.B. stray, from those of us doing classroom teaching on
college campuses.

Yes; I realize I could learn a lot from the T & D people. But I'm
mostly trying to convey Intro.-to concepts to 30-to-120 twenty year olds
at a time, and mostly in the topic areas of Operations Management,
Prin.-of-Management, Business Policy, Consumer Behavior, etc. Much of
the discussion on this list -- e.g., consultants' discussions of change
techniques for use in corporate settings -- isn't terribly close to the
situation (or subject matter) I face.

Anybody else in favor of a split? Along these lines or others?

Fred Anderson
Dept. of Management
Indiana Univ. of PA
anderson@grove.iup.edu

Fred Anderson wrote:
> could you at least encourage those submitting content to flag their title lines
as
> either "OD&C" or "Teaching", so that those of us with limited hours
> would have an easier time finding the content we want?

I don't endorse those particular labels but do encourage
posters to try to clarify what their postings are about in
the subject field. There is some benefit to keeping the
title of thread constant over time for identifying discussions
after they are archived.

By the bye, I haven't set the default for [MG-ED-DV] in the
subject field so new members might be confused by the
reference to this. It was a one time switch of members at
that moment. If you don't have this and want to have
it contact me.
Cybercollegially,
Charlie Wankel
netmaster mg-ed-dv
WANKELC@STJOHNS.EDU
or CX@WORLDNET.ATT.NET

On Wed, 11 Mar 1998, Robert Bacal wrote: [in part]

> This is the most popular discussion I've seen <grin>.

Glad to be of service! :-) Tim Edlund

Bravo larry!

At the risk of adding to the length of the list mail, let me say that
I too am concerned about how many messages I get.

To echo the suggestion of others, let us agree to respond directly to
those who seek specific information, and leave the full list
responses for genuine discussion.

Cheers to all,


John



John Chamard, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Management
Saint Mary's University
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada B3H 3C3

Phone: 1-902-420-5769 (o)
1-902-429-5923 (h)
Fax: 1-902-423-4367

Thank you for bringing this up. I have to agree with Dr. Snow and many
others. While I find many of the comments posted here useful, the
amount of mail I have been getting is overwhelming and I just don't have
the time to read it all.


_______________________________________________

If you're not having fun, you're probably not doing it right...

Andrew H. Gold
Ph.D. Candidate
The Kenan-Flagler Business School
Campus Box 3490
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3490
Voice: 919.962.3154 Fax: 919.962.4425
Email: andrew_gold@unc.edu
Home Page: http://www.unc.edu/~agold

Dear Webmaster,

I have the similar feelings with Larry and also find some of the
messages are quite long. As one way to solve the problem would it be
possible to package the digest in the way that it just includes those
announcements, requests and the comments initiating discussions. If
this can be done then we can switch to the non digest mode to take part
in discussions and turn back to the digest mode just to follow what is
go on in the group.

Gao Junshan

I currently belong to several listserves including the ODNet. As you might
imagine, I get a considerable amount of mail each day. However, I would hate
to see limits set on what is shared. I see these listserves as a valuable way
to learn about current theories, issues and technigues. I liberally use the
delete key to manage my time and only review those topics of interest to me.
But at least I have the option of seeing all that is posted. Aren't
professionals in the OD, HR, HRD and Management Development Fields supposed to
be models of Open minds?? Censoring flies in the face of this.

Nancy Probst

Has anyone else noticed how many messages there are pointing out how many messages there are on this List?

Personally I think this list is brilliant. Sure there are some (and I've probably done the same thing) who have used it for a bit of self-promotion - but how else are we to know what terrific work is being done in other parts of the world? Surely no-one can deny that this alone makes membership of this List a vital part of one's professional development.

Also, pat on the back for the facilitators of this List. Putting the MG-ED-DV in the heading has allowed me to skip over messages that I don't have time to read and get onto urgent business - and then either come back or delete en masse. User choice I think it's called.

Please - one vote against splitting the list. If that happens then I feel people will start to withdraw altogether and we might as well go back to being a bulletin board.

PHIL
P D Rutherford & Associates Pty Ltd
Competency-based systems specialists
0011 61 2 6230 4823
robnphil@ozemail.com.au

Nancy--I agree wholeheartedly with your comments.
Dick

Dick Dailey
Department of Management
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812-1216 BIG SKY COUNTRY!!
406 243 6644/Voice-Office
406 549 6876/Voice-Home Office
406 243 2086/Fax
rtd@selway.umt.edu

Also too overwhelmed on this list with minutia. Fran
Burke



On Wed, 11 Mar 1998, Irene Duhaime wrote:

> At 12:02 PM 3/11/98 -0600, you wrote:
> >The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
> >considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
> >see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
> >if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
> >list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
> >specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
> >this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
> >concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.
> >
> >Larry E. Pate
> >University of Wisconsin-Madison
> >I agree. I just joined the list a week ago and am already thinking of
> dropping out because I can't deal with the volume.
> Irene Duhaime
> Irene M. Duhaime
> Associate Dean for External Relations
> Fogelman College of Business and Economics
> The University of Memphis
> Memphis TN 38152
> 901-678-2457 (direct)
> 901-678-3759 (fax)
> iduhaime@cc.memphis.edu
>

Ken A. Smith wrote:

> I've found this setup works very well. I'm on three high-volume lists,
> but by filtering the mail directly to separate folders, I can avoid
> having my main inbox inundated. And if I get too far behind, I can
> simply delete all the messages in a folder and start again.
>
> Hope this helps.

Thank you for the suggestion. I haven't taken the time to learn the more
advanced features of E-Mail programs. I expect the use of the direct placement
in folders to be a big help. My family will really appreciate it!

David Miron

Phillip Rutherford wrote:

> Please - one vote against splitting the list. If that happens then I feel people will start to withdraw altogether and we might as well go back to being a bulletin board.
>

I agree with Phil.

David Miron

I'm amazed as well. It swamps the amount I receive on other lists. Chats
might be helpful. Although I've found that skimming quickly and the d key
gets me the best of both worlds.... information at a quick pace.

On Wed, 11 Mar 1998, Larry Pate wrote:

> The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
> considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
> see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
> if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
> list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
> specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
> this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
> concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.
>
> Larry E. Pate
> University of Wisconsin-Madison
>

I have been mostly reading and sometimes saving messages on this list. I
have not entered into the discussion (I refuse to use that term - the L
word!) because I have not had anything to say.

My recommendation to anyone who wants a specifically focused dialogue is
to begin one! This list exists for all its participants.

Edryce Reynolds

On Thu, 12 Mar 1998 12:00:53 EST OrgCoach <OrgCoach@AOL.COM> writes:
>In a message dated 98-03-12 09:25:46 EST,
>mwhitfie@MAIL.GAC.PEACHNET.EDU
>writes:
>
>> I joined in the expectation that it would yield a
>> dialogue on management education. So far, most of the messages
>have been
>> in the management development area. I strongly urge that this
>MG-ED-DV
>> list be divided into two lists, one for MG-ED and the other for
>MG-DV.
>
>I don't understand this comment. Can you fill me in?
>
>Andrea
>
>Andrea Sigetich Affiliates
>Organization Coaching for magnificent management and team development
>Personal Coaching for amazing individual results
>OrgCoach@aol.com
>

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

My situation mirrors Irene's.... after a week, I'm wondering if I should
unsubscribe. My needs mirror Fred's.... I teach Principles of
management, etc., and, although interesting am burdened by the enormous
amount of mail dealing with change, etc.

On Wed, 11 Mar 1998, Irene Duhaime wrote:

> At 12:02 PM 3/11/98 -0600, you wrote:
> >The volume of mail coming from this list is mind boggling and is taking a
> >considerable time commitment just to keep up with it. While I'm glad to
> >see so many people sharing so much interesting information, I am wondering
> >if there is a way to reduce the volume of mail. For example, could the
> >list administrator or someone else set up separate "chat" sites for
> >specialty topics? If I'm the only one bothered by the volume of mail from
> >this list, then just ignore this message. But if others are also
> >concerned, then perhaps we should do something about it. Thanks.
> >
> >Larry E. Pate
> >University of Wisconsin-Madison
> >I agree. I just joined the list a week ago and am already thinking of
> dropping out because I can't deal with the volume.
> Irene Duhaime
> Irene M. Duhaime
> Associate Dean for External Relations
> Fogelman College of Business and Economics
> The University of Memphis
> Memphis TN 38152
> 901-678-2457 (direct)
> 901-678-3759 (fax)
> iduhaime@cc.memphis.edu
>