Se the quote…

On Fri, Jan 14, 2022 at 2:45 PM Tim Spalding <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> "Mailing lists aren't what they used to be. Of the mailing lists in which I
> subscribe, zero discussion happens. There are really only announcements. I
> suppose the Code4Lib mailing list is no different."
>
> At the risk of starting a discussion where nobody discusses:
>
> 1. Why are mailing lists dead for discussion?


Email is on its last legs. It only lags voicemail in the race for most
despised medium.

>
> 2. Has discussion of the topics here moved elsewhere? If so, where and why?


It has largely moved to more real-time venues, like Slack

>
> 3. Is any of this about Code4Lib specifically, about libraries
> specifically, about coding and tech specifically… or is this just a symptom
> of larger phenomena?


This is a widespread trend, but it has its greatest impact on smaller
communities, like C4L..

>
> What phenomena?


Technology has evolved, and we want the good stuff.

>
>
> Best,
> Tim Spalding
> LibraryThing
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jan 14, 2022 at 3:03 PM Lolis, John <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > Yowzuh!  That's not only quite an opus, but also a thing of beauty you've
> > wrought.  Quite interesting, too.  I doff my virtual hat to you.
> >
> > John Lolis
> > Coordinator of Computer Systems
> >
> > 100 Martine Avenue
> > White Plains, NY  10601
> >
> > tel: 1.914.422.1497
> > fax: 1.914.422.1452
> >
> > https://whiteplainslibrary.org/
> >
> > *Some may say that perception is everything, but not from where I stand.*
> >
> >
> > On Fri, 14 Jan 2022 at 14:30, Eric Lease Morgan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > I have done a bit of compare & contrast when it comes to the Code4Lib
> > > mailing list. And I can demonstrate how discussions about specific
> > > computing issues in libraries have declined, and job postings have
> > > increased.
> > >
> > > In 2011, there were approximately 3,000 postings to the list for a
> total
> > > of .98 million words. By comparison, in 2021 there were 1700 postings
> > and a
> > > total of .5 million words. To put it another way, the mailing list's
> > volume
> > > has decreased by about half.
> > >
> > > I calculated quite a number of frequencies based on a wide variety of
> > > features (ngrams, parts-of-speech, named entities, etc.). In 2011 the
> > names
> > > of people dominated the entities, but in 2022 the names of
> organizations
> > > dominated. When I did topic modeling against 2011, themes included:
> > > "conference", "library", and "data". On the other hand, themes from
> 2022
> > > included: "library", "experience", and "digital".
> > >
> > > Probably the most telling model was the word collocations. While the
> > > attached images may be too small to appreciate all the nuances, the
> 2011
> > > graph includes the names of many individual people and computing issues
> > > like "data", "MARC", and "RDF". The 2021 graph has a much larger
> emphasis
> > > on "experience", and there is a set of related words regarding race &
> > > gender, which come from the boiler plate paragraphs of job postings.
> > >
> > > Mailing lists aren't what they used to be. Of the mailing lists in
> which
> > I
> > > subscribe, zero discussion happens. There are really only
> announcements.
> > I
> > > suppose the Code4Lib mailing list is no different.
> > >
> > > That said, the mailing list's subscription base continues to slowly
> > > increase. We are about 3,800 people strong. On the other hand, a robot
> is
> > > the most frequent poster to the list. Signs of the times?  :-D
> > >
> > > --
> > > Eric Lease Morgan
> > > Navari Family Center for Digital Scholarship
> > > Hesburgh Libraries
> > > University of Notre Dame
> > >
> > > 574/631-8604
> > > https://cds.library.nd.edu
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
> --
> Check out my library at http://www.librarything.com/profile/timspalding
>
-- 
Cary Gordon
The Cherry Hill Company
http://chillco.com