Not that I’m a expert on blogging (far from it!! my own blog languishes from neglect – like my houseplants…wait! what houseplants??), but I have been trying to push the idea of using the TI blog as a way of moving the often interesting discussions that we have on our listserv to a more public forum. Why do I, for one, think this is a good idea?? Well, I’ve listed it in posts before, but let me summarize my thoughts on the advantages of the blog over the listserv here:
- the blog allows easy tracking of “conversations” – on the listserv, you have to keep all the posts, or hunt through the archives.
- the blog prevents the inadvertent sending of an unintended (or reconsidered) reply – several times, we have experienced the pain of members of the listserv finding that personal information or private communications had inadvertently been shared with the list. so, whereas on the listserv, once an email is sent, it’s not recoverable, but a blog post or comment can always be withdrawn, usually instantly.
- the blog permits moderation – yes, a listserv can be moderated, and our “News Only” listserv is a moderated list, but moderated lists require someone to constantly monitor and approve posts – with the blog, once a user has been promoted to “Author”, they can post without review, and they are in charge of moderating comments on their own posts.
- the blog is public – that may seem a downside to some, but I believe that the public nature of the blog serves two important purposes:
- in the relative privacy of the listserv, sometimes “discussions” escalate into “arguments”, and, in the worst cases, personal name-calling; with a more public forum, the tendency of commenters is to maintain greater civility
- more importantly, the public nature of the blog allows folks that are not already part of the community to “discover” us, and the often wonderful and deep discussions that we have among us – or the fun, jokey stuff that we share. It’s a great opportunity to show off who we are to the local community, and invite folks to explore us – it makes all of us advocates for the community that we love!
- with the subscription function on the blog, one of the criticisms that I heard from some folks: “I want to see the posts in their email in-boxes, not have to search for them on the web” is fixed. Yes, to add a comment, you have to follow the link in the subscription email, but that’s really not much harder than clicking on the “Reply” button to a listserv posting.
So, I hope our small group of subscribers will help me evangelize about the blog, and convince your friends, both within the TI community and outside, to check us out and engage in the online conversation!
A few folks have asked me how to “get on the blog” – it’s really simple. If you’re reading this on the blog, than all you need to do is explore the posts that are here, and comment on whatever strikes your fancy – you’ll see that recent comments and recent posts show up in the right-hand menu, so you can easily see what folks have commented on recently, and if you add a comments, others will easily find your pithy words!! You don’t have to register to comment.
If you want to contribute your own posts, you do have to register. Your first 3 posts will be reviewed before posting, mostly just to be sure that you’re not a hacker or a bot!! If you’re clearly legitimate (i.e. you’re a living, breathing human being), after those initial three posts, you will be promoted to Author status, and you will be able to Publish your own posts without anyone else reviewing your posts (you’ll see a “Publish” button under the area to enter your posts).
Janaki,
Thanks for the instructions. I decided to give it a try to see what happens, as you can read.
Please describe what the following that you’ve written mean: “hacker or a bot!!” I’m not familiar with cyber vocabulary and would guess that there are other users of the blog who would appreciate clarification. Also, I think that in the interests of knowing who the participants on the blog are it’s important for people who post articles to “take ownership,” ie: post their names and introduce the article with a few words about why they have chosen to send the article to the blog.
Roz,
thanks for pointing out my use of “cyber-slang” – to the best of my ability, i’ll provide definitions:
hacker = a person who purposely tries to break into systems that they don’t belong in, usually just for the “fun” of accomplishing the break-in. some hackers are malicious, most, i think, are motivated by the desire to simply get past some form of security. any web tool that is open to the public, while having the advantages that i described in my original post, of inviting new eyes and new thoughts, has the potential to “hacker-attack”, and so, moderation is key. The wikipedia definition of hacker is found here
bot = an automated program that combs through web pages, with either benign or malicious purpose. we actually get a lot of this as it is, and we have a nice little program integrated into the blog, called Akismet, which catches 99% of the bot traffic that comes through. most of these are various attempts to introduce links to websites that we don’t necessarily want to support, such as online porn, and marketing of items which are not “family-friendly”. in simplified SAT-type terms: “bot is to blog as spam is to email”. the wikipedia definition of Internet Bot is found here
i hope this helps clarify the above terms.
as for your second point, regarding posters taking ownership of their posts – the nature of most blogs and bulletin-boards online, as well as other social media fora, is that users are allowed to use an alias to express their thoughts more freely, if they so choose. even on our listserv, the identity of the sender is not required, as long as that person has been appropriately approved by the administrators of the listserv. some folks have very good reasons to keep their online life private, particularly if they are engaging in personal activity the web that they prefer not be readily linked to their professional or other life-role.
I believe, in your last sentence, you are referring to the recent post Authentic Judaism, which does, in fact, have a one-line comment at the top which I believe indicates why the poster reproduced the article here for others to comment:
I think the article is interesting, and I was glad of the opportunity to read it. It has certainly raised some ideas for me, and I hope to have a chance to comment on it soon….
I believe that a principled adult will support the positions they uphold verbally, in writing, and in other ways. To use an alternate identity in order to express one’s authentic views smacks of insincerity and results in an alienated life. Living a charade is unsustainable. I think that a synagogue blog needs to be a model of honesty: where people are proud to speak their minds and discuss ideas, knowing with whom they are communicating. To assist in hiding participants’ identities can only result in distorted, dishonest communication.