PaleoNet and the nature of listserver discussions

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I suppose it's some kind of measure of PaleoNet's success that people are
now beginning to complain that there's too much on it. First, let's cool
down the rhetoric on this topic a bit. No one is going to accomplish
anything calling others names (e.g., prima donnas) or suggesting that
people who don't agree with them go someplace else. PaleoNet was designed
as a place where all opinions could be heard.

With respect to the question of filtering messages based on keywords, I
understand there are e-mail programs that perform this function (perhaps
someone can post some info. about these). Anyone wishing to have access to
this feature should look into acquiring the necessary software. With the
upcoming release of "intelligent agents" this sort of thing will be a
standard feature of electronic communications in the near future.

Finally, let me emphasize Jere's post. PaleoNet is like a party where lots
of different discussions can go on simultaneously. If you find yourself
uninterested in a particular topic, or bored with the thread of a
discussion, the best way out of your predicament is to start a discussion
on a topic you are interested in. In terms of the volume of PaleoNet
messages I would point out that the digest function in ListProc (the
listserver software that PaleoNet now uses) is much better than the old
digests that were sent out when PaleoNet was resident on the NHM network.
People who are having trouble keeping up with the discussions might want to
try to digest option for awhile. Complete instructions on how to set your
subscription to the digest option, and take advantage of ListProc's many
other subscriber features, can be found in the PaleoNet Pages at...

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/paleonet/Listservers/PaleoNet.Html

For North American subscribers, a mirror of the PaleoNet Pages web site is
(hopefully) just days away from release. This should greatly facilitate
your access to the PaleoNet Pages.

The paleontological community is very diverse and discussions on topics
close to our own hearts can get intense at times. But let's all remember
that paleontology, like any other science, progresses by being inclusive
and trying to look at all sides of complex issues, not exclusive and
confined to a particular set of "accepted" opinions. I know I've received a
lot of valuable information over PaleoNet and if some items have been
posted that I think are of questionable validity ;-> the frequency of such
events is a lot less than I encounter listening to the evening news.


Norm MacLeod



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Norman MacLeod
Micropalaeontological Research
N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (Internet)
N.MacLeod@uk.ac.nhm (Janet)

Address: Dept. of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
         Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD

Office Phone: 0171-938-9006
Dept. FAX:  0171-938-9277
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