Friday, February 04, 2005

Are Listservs Dead?

From Library Stuff.net
Rushton Brandis notfied me via e-mail today that he has published an article on WebJunction about weblogs and RSS. I'm quoted:

"Will becoming a blog reader via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) help deal with listserv e-mail? Yes, if Steven Cohen of Library Stuff is right. Speaking at the 2004 Internet Librarian conference in Monterey, California, he stated that 'listservs are dead'.


Yes, I did say that and yes I do believe that. I say it whenever I get a chance and there is always a gasp in the room when I do, as if I just said something dirty. Listservs, I believe, are all about noise. The one good thing that came from me leaving the law library world was getting off of those awful e-mail discussion boards that cluttered my inbox. The one place where I think that listervs MAY serve a purpose is within a small knit community, like a county or citywide system. Something small. That said, weblogs and/or wikis could be a fine replacement for any electronic discussion.

I think we need to move away from the brainwash that is e-mail and start moving towards more online community-based discussions. Heck, even forums work better than listservs.

I don't want my daughter to ever have an e-mail address.

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