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hi linda At 06:34 1999/01/22 -0500, you wrote: >The way I used to understand it, there are two types of Internet >Discussion groups - News Groups which can be accessed thru the Web and >are open to anyone to read and/or post messages to (these often have an >".alt" at the beginning of their names), and Mailing Lists, accessed thru >e-mail, and open only to subscribers to read and post to, which was the >original intent of the Parkinson List. >It is true that someone who really wants to read this list's messages >can access them through the Archives, but putting the list online as has >just been done, makes it easily and completely accessible to all Internet >users worldwide. Now anyone doing a search using Alta Vista or other >search engines will have keyword access to our postings - if your name is >included in the text of your message, someone could search for it also. >When people knowingly put information about themselves on the Web - such >as the accounts on the Parkinson's Ring or the Hole-in-the-head-gang, >they are aware that what they have written is available to any Internet >user. > >When people subscribe to and post messages to a discussion list, >like this one, I think it is with the understanding that it is for other >subscribers to read. Considering the archives, I suppose this is a false >sense of security, but I think the extent of access does matter. An >analogy - If you leave a personal letter open at your desk at work, an >individual who is looking through your desk can find it and read it. This >is very different from your boss opening all your mail and reading every >word, and then passing it around to the rest of the office. > >This is a MAJOR change in the nature and purpose of the Parkinson's list > - moreso than changing how replies are addressed. Why wasn't there any >discussion of this first, and why weren't other list members' opinions >requested? I fear this will drastically reduce the numbers of people who >will feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. True, as Phil >said we can use aliases, but I have made a number of good friends from >this list - I'd like to be able to tell them my real name. Can we open >this decision to further discussion and reconsideration? > >Linda Herman i agree fully with all you've said and felt it was worth repeating if i may add another analogy: the public's access to the pd list archives is limited in that the messages themselves are not available to the internet www search engines; they are only available to the lotus notes search engine that simon's site gives access to so john cottingham's "parkinsn list on-line" web-site has created a large off ramp directional sign from the info superhighway which feeds straight into the messages while simon coles' "parkinsn list archives on-line" web-site has created a small off ramp directional sign from the info superhighway which leads to a parkinson theme park open to the public which leads to a nerd-fortune-teller's kiosk where questions phrased in nerdese only will be answered every individual web page [written in html] in the world-wide-web [www] is searchable by the www search engines e.g. yahoo.com and is thus accessible to all nerds and non-nerds alike the world-wide-web is the newest [4 years?] and most public "face" of the +20-year-old internet system where e-mail and e-mailing lists originated there are some subscribers who have internet access only to e-mail and not to the world-wide-web so both john cottingham's and simon coles' web-sites are unavailable to them in any case your cyber-sibling janet janet paterson - 51 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm [log in to unmask]