The ELA Listserv Disaster
Justin Bathon on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 10:55AM Something that a lot of you probably didn't see over the weekend, unless you are subscribed, was the disaster that unfolded on the ELA Administrator listserv. Here is how it played out:
- An administrator asks what others are doing re: Obama's speech.
- A few folks reply with varied responses.
- A question then gets asked on study halls...
- 1-2 people respond on study hall issues
- Then 15 people asked to be unsubscribed (as of this writing, the unsubscribe requests are still coming).
This might not sound disasterous, but since most administrators don't come to the annual convention, this listserv is one of their primary interactions with ELA. But, for at least 15 of those folks, they have decided that the annoyance of the listserv outweighs any possible benefit. And worse, while this is the worst case I have seen, any time something is posted to any of the ELA listservs (profs., lawyers, administrators) there are always at least a few unsubscribers.
And, this is the trouble with listservs - they are sort of annoying. I personally was interested in the Obama speech issue, but like lots of others I was in no way interested in how best to structure study hall. I hope ELA recognizes this and provides alternatives for those that don't put up with listservs. ELA has a forum, but it takes passing though 2 levels of security (and several more clicks) to access it. Why not just put a forum right there on the ELA homepage?
Reader Comments