I know this group has a broad scope, but we also have a specific remit during the time of the EVOnline session. Could I strongly encourage people to avoid flying too far off topic. The email traffic across the workshops is massive, and I for one I'm rapidly reaching saturation! I don't personally think that this is an appropriate forum for discussing international military conflicts, computer software monopolies and the problems of encoding minority languages in emails. These are all worthy subjects and I am sure could profitably be discussed in private emails (as Gareth suggests).
Let's not get too far sidetracked, eh? I'm sorry for always sounding like a teacher in my postings, but, well, I am a teacher.
Cheers,
Nigel.
At the moment WIA is focused on a discussion around CoP's, but as this discussion list existed before the CoP event, there is a lot of 'as usual' traffic on that list. Should we only be posting messages to this list that are on this topic only for the duration of the Evonline sessions? Or is it OK to post as usual because every message is evidence of a CoP in practice??
It would be good to hear what others think. And yes Nigel, this means more emails but you raise important issues about how we should be communicating, and I'm with you - I think we all need to think more carefully about email netiquette - subject lines, repeating earlier posts, etc. It would be nice to know that we are a community of GOOD practice!
- Michael C.
Interesting discussion!
>Nigel raises interesting
points here, and he has got me thinking every time
>I post anything!! "Should this be a personal or group email?",
I ask
>myself. Or should I post to Webheads, or the WIA (evonline 2002) email
>address?
I am thinking a little bit
radical in the netiquette issue! I personally do not care how many emails
I recieve and from whom. Because, I accept the fact that the Internet
is un-patrolled! No speed Limit! Many companies are selling my email addresses
and I receive a bunch of junk e-mails every day, anyway. So, I don't want
to double think every time when I post anything,
as Michael states.
>It would be good to hear what others think. And yes Nigel, this means
more
>emails but you raise important issues about how we should be communicating,
>and I'm with you - I think we all need to think more carefully about
email
>netiquette - subject lines, repeating earlier posts, etc. It would
be nice
>to know that we are a community of GOOD practice!
There will always be bad guys
on the block, though! :-))
Best Wishes
arif altun
I really think IMHO, that we should write about topics that we consider will be of interest to the community whether or not they are in the syllabus. I believe that this community has been very open to accept the topics people raise. If webheads are not interested in a topic, they just do not answer it, and it vanishes in cyberspace (sometimes to be picked up later ). On the other hand, if people are interested, fruitful discussions usually take place. It happened last week, when not being in the syllabus, we had some relevant topics discussed. Likewise, on Sunday, Don made some comments about "silence in chats", I sent him a message through the list, and we have had some other people getting involved in the discussion. This week we are discussing what a CoP is, and I think that adding topics to a pre-written agenda is part of it, as it is, the fact that we are discussing this topic about what should and should not be discussed. This is part of the negotiation among the members in the community. I, personally, welcome new interesting topics, or do we need to "cover" objective 1.2.3 next? :-) hugs,
Daf
PS: You guys got me thinking about the silences in chats.
Since you asked for our opinions, I think that "business goes on as usual" is a good example of what we are discussing. After all, what community is based on only one specific topic? Usually, many topics are all going on at the same time. I see this (as you put it) as evidence of a CoP in practice. It also lets those who are new to WIA see what we do on a regular basis.
Dr. Cat
Prof. John H. Steele, Ph.D.
As a new comer, I second Nigel's idea about focusing on each week's discussion so that I can really follow up the lesson. However, it is also a pleasure to read all the exchanged ideas on different topics because it really help we new members understand what's going on in WIA on a regular basis (as Dr. Cat says).
But, anyway, I'm still gald that the discussion gradually centers around CoP these two days. So far, I have been deeply impressed all the work done by the experienced webheads. And I believe that the continuity and prosperity of an online community really depend on the warm and friendly guidance of those veterans. They also offer scoffolding, in terms of professional knowledge and social interaction. Besides, I believe that even the boundary members can feel the sense of community if all the discussions actually are addressing all kinds of members. So, it probably better to avoid private exchanges among just a couple of members. New members might easily feel leftout, isolated, not fitting in, just because they are intimidating by those professional discussions or jargons. Don't worry, I actually feel home here.
Of course, I'm just one of the new members so my opinion certainly can't be representative of others. But, I think most of us might agree that so far, we feel great, learn a lot, know many great people. Thanks.
Alice from Taipei
I'm glad Nigel started us on this thread because it has I believe got us back on the topic of who we are and what makes us tick. It's also worth making some attempt at pointing all us cats in the right direction.
I presume that most of you are aware of the metaphor of emoderation being closely related to herding cats. That's been my contention from the outset (and I get on well with cats myself). I'm sure Dr. Cat would agree (that's John Steele, who did his dissertation in 'Webheadery' and if you want to read it, look him up on our community pages).
I'm sure that most of us will heed Nigel's friendly reminder and TRY to keep our postings bereft of excess verbiage (as one of the offenders, I'd better stop here).
Cheers to this great group,
Vance
Here's my 2 cents on political issues. I take Nigel's and Michael's point about political issues - straying off the topic. I believe there is a balance to strike. If you constantly flood the CMC venues with "off the topic" issues, then the development of our knowledge domain will be hindered. However, if you bite your nails about the suitability of every message you send then you will get a "cramped" CoP -- in danger of losing its "CoPness". Free expression of ideas, musing, etc. are necessary for new ideas to come in -- as newcomers are necessary for the same reason. Too much focus on the topic becomes task oriented and closed to new ideas (In CoPs, learning orientation takes precedence over task orientation. Tasks exist to advance learning, and not vice versa): I personally thought it was very interesting to hear about Vance's Iraq visit. I have never known anyone to go there. I also think it's good that people can talk about these things when they want to. It is also good when others say - OK, that's enough. My proposal: Feel feel to write about it, bring it up, but also please don't be offended or feel restricted when someone says "Aren't we getting off the subject here?" How's that for homeostasis ? :-)
Chris Johnson