On Jan 19, 3:10=A0am, Peter W. Rowe
wrote:
On Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:56:34 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry Janet_of_all_tr=
ades

wrote:

I like this group over Orchid. I find it difficult to get around in
Orchid.

This group certainly takes up less of your time, what with something like=
one or
two meaningful messages every few months, and only about half of them eve=
r
getting a reasonably useful answer in a similar time period.

The trouble is that when you need an answer, you have little guarantee th=
at
anyone who answers actually knows what they're talking about, since many =
of the
reply posts over the last two years have been little more than thinly vei=
led
spam, and a fair percentage of answers have been pretty much from members=
of the
interested but untrained public. =A0Not a good way to get technical help.

Getting around in the Ganoksin web site can be daunting because of it's s=
heer
size, it's true. =A0But the Orchid mail list itself can be manageable. =
=A0Rather
than read the thing on the web site itself (which also can be somewhat
cumbersome if you've a slow connection especially), actually subscribe to=
the
list so you get the messages in your email.

There are two ways to do it.

With both, it's usually best to set up your email program with a special =
folder
labeled Orchid (or your choice of names) specifically for incoming messag=
es from
the list. =A0If you subscribe to the list in "digest" format, you get one=
long
message every day. =A0That's manageable. =A0But it can be a slog reading =
that long
digest since you can't just skip to message headers of interest.

What I do is to subscribe to the list in it's traditional form, which mea=
ns
individual messages. =A0I have my email filters set up so all messages fr=
om the
list go into that folder, and nothing else goes there. =A0That means my r=
egular
email doesn't get mixed in, which would be a mess. =A0My email program al=
lows me
to set properties for the folder that say messages will be kept there for=
only
two weeks and then deleted. =A0Any messages that contain any info I might=
want to
keep get flagged as such (which makes the filter not delete it), or I can=
move
it to another folder to keep. =A0

Most email programs allow you to specify how you want incoming email sort=
ed,
such as by date, by topic, author, etc. =A0Those options let you set it u=
p (and
switch as desired) so you can intellegently follow ongoing single discuss=
ions
but not all the other topics that don't interest you.

Well, I'm getting too wordy here. =A0The point is that Orchid/Ganoksin is=
indeed
"huge", and can be a bit daunting and unweildy until you figure out how t=
o use
it. =A0But the fact remains that it is currently one of the most valuable=
places
for people in this field to share and discuss needs, questions, topics, e=
tc.
Nothing else like it exists on the web for our field. =A0Not even close. =
=A0If
Ganoksin and Orchid are a bit harder to get around, =A0it's still worth l=
earning
to do so. =A0

This group, by contrast, may make you feel good to know you're keeping in=
touch,
but these days, frankly, there's just not much to keep in touch with.

Janet, if you're a fan of this group, would you be interested in taking o=
ver as
moderator? =A0Anyone else want to do it? =A0Maybe someone else could figu=
re out how
to turn it into something useful again.

Cheers

Peter Rowe
moderator
rec.crafts.jewelry

I am already moderating thejewelryclassroom, a metal clay group, and
three facebook pages. I am swamped. Your writing shows how tired you
are of this group. Maybe it is time to pull the plug? I've only been a
part of this group for a year and have enjoyed reading some of the
topics. You've done a great job Peter!