Business: September 2006 Archives
I'm on a large number of mailing lists that cover a wide range of topics including open source software, web technologies, spam filtering, dns, networking and a range of other topics.
Nearly all of the lists show who the message poster is and allow them to include their own email signature.
Only very rarely does any of the list content get "out of hand".
Unfortunately not all lists are made equal.
The Enterprise Ireland eBusiness list is not equal by any stretch of the imagination.
Why?
All messages to the list are moderated, so any hopes of a "conversation" or "discussion" are doomed to failure.
If you post a message at 9am in reply to a message that appeared at 8.45 am it may not make it to the list until hours later.
The moderation of the list also includes the headers and all other "normal" content associated with emails.
If the poster has included a signature this "may" be included, but there is no guarantee. (On the plus side the twenty line signatures favoured by some people are banished)
For example, this morning someone posted the following:
How can you respond to them? "Dear Anonymous"??
On other mailing lists you are "laid bare".
If your posts are seen to contribute positively then any messages from you will be viewed with a higher level of respect than those from a "newbie".
That's how peer networks tend to work.
You become a "trusted" source and your opinion increases in value.
Anonymous lists are a bit like anonymous comments on blogs.
They lend little value to the "web".
It could be argued that forums lend a degree of anonymity, however they generally encourage the development of an online identity that is as identifiable as a person's "real" name.
Nearly all of the lists show who the message poster is and allow them to include their own email signature.
Only very rarely does any of the list content get "out of hand".
Unfortunately not all lists are made equal.
The Enterprise Ireland eBusiness list is not equal by any stretch of the imagination.
Why?
All messages to the list are moderated, so any hopes of a "conversation" or "discussion" are doomed to failure.
If you post a message at 9am in reply to a message that appeared at 8.45 am it may not make it to the list until hours later.
The moderation of the list also includes the headers and all other "normal" content associated with emails.
If the poster has included a signature this "may" be included, but there is no guarantee. (On the plus side the twenty line signatures favoured by some people are banished)
For example, this morning someone posted the following:
Hi Have any members got any ideas on a practical eBusiness project for an eBusiness course? Any ideas welcome. ThanksSo who is asking the question?
How can you respond to them? "Dear Anonymous"??
On other mailing lists you are "laid bare".
If your posts are seen to contribute positively then any messages from you will be viewed with a higher level of respect than those from a "newbie".
That's how peer networks tend to work.
You become a "trusted" source and your opinion increases in value.
Anonymous lists are a bit like anonymous comments on blogs.
They lend little value to the "web".
It could be argued that forums lend a degree of anonymity, however they generally encourage the development of an online identity that is as identifiable as a person's "real" name.
Although I've had some really good experiences on eBay, one vendor's practices make me sick to the stomach.
Shendenetworking market themselves as:
Shende Networking Co.,Ltd, ebay ID verified powerseller, is specialized in new and sealed Cisco products, including switch, firewall, router, GBIC&SFP,WIC,software,memories,cables etc... We provide high quality products and professional services to our customers. Happy bidding!However they actually sell counterfeit Cisco equipment. When we queried this with them one of their staff replied:
We never indicate that these units are original cisco items on ebay listing page.BUT if you look at any item these scammers are selling you'd get a very different impression We found out the hard way when we sent a defective switch into Cisco recently. It's a lot safer to buy from the likes of Hardware.com!
Yet another UK company is trying to scam Irish business with charming threats of domains being registered by others.. This seems to happen every 3 to 4 months...
In any case I've posted a sanitised version of one of their emails on the company blog if anyone wants to read about it.
Just reading the CRO's latest newsletter when the first item struck me:
** POSTAGE ** We have seen an increase in the number of documents being sent by "free post". However, the CRO does not operate a "free post" licence. Always attach the correct postage to mail for the CRO. Sending mail by "free post" to the CRO will result in it not being delivered, or delivered late. This is of particular relevance to those who deliver annual returns to the CRO by post as a late filing penalty could be incurred.So basically people are presuming that the CRO have a freepost license and just sending documents of varying importance in based on this presumption?
The 2006 IIA Net Visionary awards nominations are now open.
You may nominate anyone you wish and you do not have to be a member of the IIA to nominate someone.
There are a wide range of award categories that include blogging and podcasting for the first time this year.
The nomination form is here
