[Edu-sig] RE: articles of possible interest

[David Scherer]

I wrote:

> Even at sites that provide forums, the vast majority of
> visitors lurk.

Jason Straw responded:

> Now that's a thought...some of us, like my self wait for a time
> then talk, or
> they don't need questions answered on that list they just need a place to
> read about what is going on.

That is, more or less, my point - and it isn't at all a criticism of the
"lurkers".  An archived forum lies somewhere in between personal
communication and publishing.  It doesn't make sense to contribute except
when you think you have something particularly important to add to the
conversation.  There's obviously a place for such environments, and I'm
certainly not calling for decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio of mailing
lists and newsgroups!

There's also a place for environments in which speech is transient,
real-time, and personal, and where passers-by can be actively drawn into
conversation.  Some such environments exist in real life: a good classroom
is an example.  Unfortunately, "Everyone" does not, and will not forseeably
have access to a community of fellow Python users in real life.

Dave