RE: UKNM: ADMIN: Times are a changin'

[Steve Johnston/IMRG]

>>Sam are you tinkering with the bottom-line, in which 

>>case you'll hear no more from me on the subject, or are 

>>there bigger plans afoot. We should be told.


>We should be told no such thing. We are not stakeholders

>we are freeloaders. If you don't like the way Sam runs

>HIS list, unsub. Sam's been providing the free tea and

>scones here for quite a while. How long should he have

>to pay for it out of his own hide?


>Glenn Fleishman put it to a vote on the original

>Internet Marketing List. Those who don't study the

>past will be condemned to discuss it as if it never 

>happened: http://www.i-m.com/archives/latest/0306.html



I don't know if you saw my first couple of posts on this thread, but I see 

nothing but support for my original concerns in your email and in your 

historical pointers.


My initial concerns were always about the value of being a subscriber, i.e. 

the productivity with which a topic could be discussed. I never had a 

problem with Sam making money out of the list, that would have been naive 

and churlish, and I will not pass into the modest history of this list as 

the guy would complained about the sponsorship, because I didn't.


I expressed my concerns in terms of the lists growing popularity and how 

the references to media publicity at the time would accelerate this. Not 

because I am elitist, but because as the list grows, the productivity will 

fall. This much is evident from your lesson from history. Glenn Fleishman's 

own words: "Frankly, I believe, even with the continued and active 

participation of a good fraction of its membership, that the level of 

discussion on the list has become less and less interesting over time, and 

we're repeating ourselves ad nauseum for the most part." Now why does this 

sound familiar?


Also at least on the Internet Marketing List they discussed what to do 

about it in advance. Having said that, I am fairly certain, that the 

contributors to this list would have voted for some modest sponsorship 

rather than fork out a financial subscription. So we get back to where we 

are. 


I do however reject your suggestion that I am freeloading. My contribution 

to this community is without doubt professionally motivated, but I care 

that it is an effective debating ground, as there is a constituent to my 

participation that is to do with loyalty to my profession as opposed to 

loyalty to my employer. 



In closing, maybe it impossible for a list like this to survive its 

success.


Steve Johnston

Director of Development

The IMRG


www.imrg.org

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