Mailing List Woes

[P3D Marvin Jones <Campfire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I think P3D as it now exists is a great forum for general 3D informatio=
n
and
> discussion. I agree that condescension toward the simpler equipment can=

> sometimes get a little heavy, but remember that you don't have to agree=

with
> everybody's opinion just because they posted it.
> =

I agree with John's assessment of P3D entirely--it is rich and robust
enough for just about every possible 3D interest. He did also overlook on=
e
pitfall of starting a mailing list -- "If you build it, they won't
necessarily come, and if they come, they won't necessarily participate."
Last year I had scores of requests via my commercial website (unrelated t=
o
3D) to start a mailing list for discussions related to my business.
Finally, sensing a crying need, I set up a mailing list. Within 24 hours =
of
the announcement, a couple of hundred people had subscribed and more were=

pouring in every day. Oh boy, I thought, this is HAPP'NIN'!  And then ...=

nothing. The coldest, stoniest silence you've ever heard! After I pleaded=

for SOMEBODY to say SOMETHING, one or two messages trickled in, and then
another silence. By the time I gave it up five months later, there were
over a thousand subscribers and about a half-dozen people had sent
messages, all of them in response to pleas from me after long periods of
silence.

P3D has a more involved subscribership, obviously, but if you compared th=
e
number of people to actually contribute to the total subscriber base, you=
'd
still probably come up with something less than 5% involvement. A mailing=

list with a severely limited subject range and message style restrictions=

will probably include only messages from the list's originator talking to=

himself.


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