[opendtv] Re: Start-up glitches
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "jmwillkie@xxxxxxx" <jmwillkie@xxxxxxx>, opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 08:53:38 -0500
At 12:10 PM -0800 4/1/04, jmwillkie@xxxxxxx wrote:
>I'd characterize that as an intemperate remark. It sounds to me that most
>of the people who didn't want their in-boxes swamped opted to leave the list
>instead of setting up the new list for digest mode.
Watch it BOY. You might get unsubscribed along with the rest of
these folks. And the new list has the ability to block certain
addresses from re-subscribing...
;-)
There were a multitude of sins at work here. Many of these folks were
in a mode that allowed them to view the list online without receiving
messages. Unfortunately there was way to determine this via the
Topica list management software. And there was no way to know which
addresses were in the black hole.
>
>Also, some people who thought they were done with the list saw it reappear
>in their inboxes. Either way, it wasn't THEIR fault.
Yup.
Surprise, surprise!
The intemperate remark came after dealing with one gentleman in
Philadelphia who was particularly upset. He claimed he had never
subscribed to Topica, then proceeded to send me 15 e-mails saying:
Take me off the list! Take EVERYONE off JERK.
After a few e-mail exchanges we managed to clear the air and settle
down. He only wanted to read Mark's Monday memos.
But this whole affair is very telling in terms of what has happened
to the Internet and e-mail in particular during the years that the
list was hosted at Topica.
When I first started using e-mail back in 1992 - to work on the SMPTE
Task Force Report on Digital Image Architecture, e-mail was like
unbelievable magic. People all over the world working together to
create something nearly in real time.
I used to sit in the family room reading e-mail while the rest of the
family was watching TV. Occasionally would have emotional outbursts
when reading messages. E-mail was a new experience with vast
potential.
Then the web happened and the Internet experience was enhanced again.
Then the entrenched media started to see the ways in which the
Internet could disrupt their exclusive franchises and disintermediate
their ability to control media commerce. Things have been going
downhill ever since.
What I find really interesting in all of this is how the powerful
interests are using the legal system, legislation and regulation to
control their destiny. We are now looking at the very real
possibility that virtually everything that touches media bits will be
regulated. We are looking at consumers spending billions of dollars
to protect these bits so that the entrenched interest can be propped
up.
Yet we cannot come up with a law or a technology to restore some
sanity to e-mail. I can fully understand why some people were upset
when I moved the list. Rather than anticipating "You've Got Mail," we
now approach our computers with apprehension. How many hours do each
of us now spend filtering through the garbage to find the few
messages that we want?
My how times have changed!
Regards
Craig
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