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A Brief History of the Biz ListA little background on the list. We've been around for a while, (since 96) and have developed a few ... unusual traditions. |
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Unfortunately, that name was taken. Trademarked, in fact. So, it was shortened to mb-list. We started off pretty well. Before very long we had enough people who wanted a digest version that we had one set up. We were picking up active subscribers pretty quickly. TOO quickly, in fact. As I mentioned, the hosting company where I got the account offered the lists as an extra. It wasn't their main business, and we got too big too fast. After a day in which we went even wilder than was usual for that time, we generated so much traffic that we dragged one of their webservers to it's knees. We were (politely) asked to find another hosting service. In the interests of being fair, the sign-up information on the account stated specifically that the lists were not intended for high volume situations, and that they would have limits set. The service from the company was exemplary, and I wouldn't hesitate to give them a very enthusiastic recommendation. (pair Services) By this time, the enforcement of the list rules against abuse and off topic postings had the effect of turning it into one of the more professional business lists around. We attracted a lot of serious businesspeople, and the tone was humorous and very helpful. I told the members that I would be shopping for a new list service, and was approached by one of the group with an offer to host the list and associated website in return for advertising. We were given a domain for the group's use, and access to a fair amount of resources. We definitely got more than the advertising value was worth. (The guy who made the offer said it was because he liked what the group was doing. I have no reason at all to doubt this.) Then came the flood of twits. Folks from various other lists heard about the group, and decided that they wanted in too. All well and good, but they brought their bad habits with them. When I referred to someone offering their nutritional MLM as the answer to another person's accounting troubles, I wasn't kidding. Nor was I kidding about the discussion of the appropriate shade of lipstick for business vs personal time. Or the problem with crossposting to lists with different habits. Of course I made the Newbie Mistake. I tried to explain to them why this was not acceptable on a business list. Fool that I am.... Seems they learned these habits on other (allegedly) business lists! Imagine my surprise. The kicker came when I was accused of being a vicious and uncaring sexist. Now, mind you, it's not surprising for me to be accused of all manner of Evil Things, given that I am a rather outspoken type, with no pretensions to political correctness. Pompous? Yes. Long-winded? Absolutely. (I'm inordinately fond of beer and cheeseburgers, too.) But sexist? That was a new one. The basis for this accusation was my comment that idle chatter and emotional support groups were both valuable things in their place, but that a working business list was not their place. (Frankly, I think off color jokes and philosophy are good and valuable things too. They don't belong on a working business list either.) Yes, this little segment of List Opera is relevant, believe it or not. The upshot of this little brouhaha was that a fairly substantial number of people heard about this "cold and unfeeling tyranny" (actual quote) and decided that they could use a business-like atmosphere for a change. Many of these people are among the most valued members of the list to this day, and will often catch things that get past the moderator. The final result? We have a lot of very professional, very knowledgeable, and very helpful people who have no patience for crusaders or children cluttering up their forum with trivialities. Unless the trivialities are Really Funny. (Humor is encouraged.) We went through the usual problems with business lists. Spammers, MLM ads, rants about excessive government regulations, yada yada. Standard stuff, all dealt with and done. The spammers were the main reason we went to moderated status originally. (A fairly recent development.) While it slowed things down, we discovered that having a moderated list was a good way to make sure that posts weren't sent through with excess quoting, sloppy formatting, etc. And with signature files left over from one message to another. (Don't you hate that?) When I opened the TalkBiz domain, it was decided to leave the list moderated. It's all pretty light moderation. Just filter the rare stuff that is WAY off topic, and the posts that would start flame wars of a personal nature. Wild disagreements are not at all uncommon or frowned on, as long as they're kept to the issues. The list was the first thing that was set up when this domain opened, and if all the rest were closed down after a lot of building, the list would still be kept going. A VERY brief history, actually. It's been a colorful ride so far, and we expect it will get more so, rather than less, as time goes on. The Regulars stuck with us through the whole thing, and they're the ones that make this list so valuable. Good people. Hang around a while and get to know them. They're worth the knowing.
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(Our subscriber list is kept 100% confidential.) A Brief History
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