splitting our list

[Israel Stein]

On Fri, 4 Aug 1995, Allen Leigh wrote:

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>
> Several people have expressed concerning about having expert/beginners
> lists and deciding which list to post questions to.  I don't think that
> problem would occur if we had two lists.  I think that people would choose
> one list (some would choose both lists)as their "internet home" and would
> hangout there.DD
)   Because that list was their "home" they would post to it.
> Hopefully, people would choose the list at which they felt comfortable,

Here you are running into another problem. If the only subscribers are
those who are "comfortable" at a given level, you might come up with lots
of good questions and no-one to supply answers. Or a limited range of
answers. Or incorrect answers with no-one to point out the problems. Your
available pool of knowledge will be limited.  True learning often involves
rising above one's present comfort level.

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>  I don't know how other beginning tuners feel about this list,
> but as I read all of the mail that is way above me, I don't feel
> comfortable posting "novice" questions, especially after the remarks made
> last week that "beginners" weren't wanted (I don't remember the exact
> words that were used, but that is how it came across to me).

If I recall correctly, the post that you were referring to wanted the
list limited to professional tuners/technicians and closed to hobbyists,
do-it-yourselfers and people looking to get into the profession.

)  The type of
> list that I would enjoy is one open to all, RPT, beginners like me,
> music people, anyone with an interest in the technical side to pianos.

Sounds to me like you want to try reading the newsgroup
rec.music.makers.piano; a newsgroup is a better format for what you are
suggesting than a mailing list, and one already exists that pretty much
does it. Creating such a list would be unnecessary duplication.

> I would enjoy a list in which I felt comfortable posting "dumb" questions,

IMHO there's no such thing as a "dumb" question.

> a list in which those more experienced would happily serve as mentors to
> us, and one in which we could begin to be mentors to those with less
> experience than us.  So far with this list, the response to the few
> "novice" questions that have been posted have been very brief, almost
> as if they had to give a symbolic response to get rid of us so they
> could get back to more important discussions.  I've been involved with
> electronic discussions for the past 20 years, and I realize that this
> type of communication makes it difficult to express feelings.  My
> experience during that 20 years has been that it is nice to have an
> "internet home" where we can hang out, and I hope that, whether we
> keep one list or split it, we can have a piano list that welcomes all
> and makes them feel welcome.
>

With this I wholeheartedly agree. I simply feel that a single list for
professional piano technicians and rebuilders when used competently and
with sensitivity can best serve all technicians' needs.

Israel Stein