vision2020@moscow.com: 2020 listserver: history

2020 listserver: history

Kenton Bird (KBird@vines.ColoState.EDU)
Wed, 30 Oct 96 9:00:22 MST

Visionaries,
One of our new subscribers, Sam Scripter, asked me some good questions about the
origins and purposes of this list. Since others have joined in recent weeks, I
thought it would be helpful to share his questions and my responses with the
whole list.
BTW, the material on the SPJ journalism discussion list that Greg forwarded at
my request was intended to show how a similar "unmoderated" list attempts to
inform new subscribers of proper list behavior.
--Kenton

|
| Can you tell me about the list? What is its purpose? When was it
| started?

Vision 2020 was founded in the summer of 1993 to stimulate discussion of issues
related to planning and growth of Moscow. The list-server went on line in
December of that year (or maybe it wasn't until December of '94) as way to
provide a forum for discussion on the Internet.

In its brief history, the list has served two main purposes:
1. To announce events of interest to subscribers, like public hearings, speeches
and meetings. For several months, Joel Hamilton was posting agendas for Moscow
P&Z meetings. I'd like to see city/county/school district officials post
meeting agendas in advance, but that hasn't happened.
2. To pose questions or express opinions on matters of local concern, such as
the delays in striping the bike lanes on Sixth Street or failure to provide a
designated route for bicyclists through the construction on the Pullman Highway.

| What are its policies? Who "owns" or is in charge of the list?

Greg Brown, formerly of the University of Idaho, now at Southern Illinois
University, is the formal "owner" of the list. It is an "open list," which
means anyone with an e-mail address (anywhere in the world), can subscribe. It
is an "unmoderated" list, which means anyone can post something to the entire
list without routing it through a moderator (which some lists require). So
far, the list has been self-regulated; if someone is rude, repetitive or off the
point of the discussion, someone else will usually write in and tell them so.

| There wasn't
| any informational material attached to my subscription
| acknowledgement from
| Majordomo.

There should be a statement of the list's purposes sent to new subscribers, as
well as retrievable by sending a message to majordomo with the text "info
vision2020" However, that statement is apparently not functioning. Greg is
going to retrieve a copy of the 2020 mission and goals from Susan Palmer and
restore it on majordomo.

Kenton Bird
Department of Journalism
and Technical Communication
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1785
Phone: (970) 491-5986 Fax: (970) 491-2908
e-mail: KBird@vines.ColoState.edu


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