Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: The Future of Cohousing-L mailing list

[Eris Weaver (eris]

I find this conversation very interesting, and I'm not sure whether I think the 
list would be better served by becoming part of Coho/US or staying independent.

My experience of association-based lists is similar to Sharon's. Since the 
early nineties, I've been a subscriber to more emails lists than I can count on 
a wide variety of topics; and I've belonged to a large number of associations, 
mostly professional. The volume and vitality of the independently run lists has 
overwhelmingly surpassed that of the association-based lists.

The professional associations generally limit discussion list access to 
members. While I've never seen any formal censorship, folks just tend not to 
get into involved conversations in those venues.

Of course, Coho/US is a different kind of association as it is not 
membership-based. A membership-based association has an interest in getting & 
keeping members by offering services that are not available to nonmembers. 

If cohousing-l were to become a program/service of Coho/US, I doubt much would 
change in the short term. Theoretically, though, at any point the Association 
could decide to limit list memership, although I don't know why they would want 
to unless they DID move to a membership model. 

And of course any list managed by an individual could be altered or ended by 
that individual.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

(typed on my tablet's teeny keyboard, so please excuse any typos)
********************************
Eris Weaver, Facilitator & Group Process Consultant
eris [at] erisweaver.info
707-338-8589

www.erisweaver.info