On Wed, Sep 11, 2024 at 1:57 AM ac via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:

...

I see nothing in email (whether in Google Groups, groups.io or a conventional list like GTALUG's) that isn't functionally done better on Reddit (which allows people to "upvote" the most useful contributions) or Discord (which includes streaming and virtual ad-hoc meetings) or WhatsApp (which is super simple and most people have it anyway). All three of

On Tue, 10 Sep 2024 13:40:23 -0400 Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote: <snip> these

...

are free of cost to join or start a group of as many people as you can gather. Discord also supports Markdown formatting which is easier to do than the HTML in most emails.

You're right, it is about the audience.

I am over 40 and I use discord and read reddit each and every day...

BUT, in the groups, specially the larger one's it is not easy to read/scan each and every post, more so, when, like in email, the thread devolves from Google being listed for abuse TO where do I think Glug chat should migrate to... I usually avoid even reading threads with many replies as I have no clue who would post anything useful, where in each reply (what I would find useful, not the 'crowd' - I read upvoted drivel many times each day and every times this happens I am sure I lose a braincell and seriously consider leaving whatever platform.

In fact, if I had no interest in spam/abuse and email and only scanned the first post in this thread, I would not be even reading any of this on other platforms.

I have also had this same discussion, in a few formats and it always ends the same way... (with everyone doing whatever they want to do :) )

...

As I said, this is a generational issue.

hmm, maybe you are right, but maybe not for the reasons you think? I recall my first 'smartphone' a Nokia brick, but I could ssh into my servers (the Nokia had a shell) I could do IRC and so many things mobile. I also recall using my own first self written App, 2008? (three years after selling the Linux distro I made) App's were so cool, and surely now email would become useless. Point I am trying to make is that I used to be one of the charge leaders on 'email is now finally dead' :)

...

Email works great for people over 40, because it's comfortable and they grew up with it.

Maybe you are right. maybe email is also now comfortable for me. I did not grow up with it though. I used IRC way before using email. Email always seemed to 'clunky' and just too much :)

...

For younger people who grew up with smartphones and apps it's a very different story.

maybe. but it does not mean that technically one should promote mobile tech.

we only now know that small kids should not have smartphones. we only now know about myopia and so many many other harmful effects of where tech has taken humanity. We will also still be paying that Invoice.

I could also argue that maybe younger people, Gen A for example, is not even going to use discord or reddit. They struggle to focus and/or read anything over 120 characters. (In stating this, I am looking at actual eye tracking data and analytic data) - When comparing data Gen X and Millenials have the longest attention spans. imo, discord users are, on average, younger than reddit users. Much more still needs to be known, but the foundations expose a trend.

You should think about what this means?

also, to add : The 'upvote' idea, the 'like' idea and the 'herd' has advantages, but as it turns out, has more disadvantages.

this email has no "like' 'subscribe' 'upvote' 'downvote' and you have to truly think about who the person is writing whatever and, if you have the attention span, you have to really focus to understand what is being said :)

sure, hindsight is perfect. but even in knowing something, like planetary change is going to extinct us faster, this does not change anything.

maybe we are evolving ourselves into extinction as we are truly disgusted at our very nature and the herd is just the herd.

and, btw, as there are useful things in the bottom post, I have left it intact, for the record, email allows me to reply inline, snip stuff and allsorts of other things which, depending on the platform, is either impossible, or just too much of an effort and just to hard to do...

Hmmmmmmmm - - - been following the thread - - - - I'm thinking that its not that email is dead or dying, its not that attention span has been decreasing (although not training ourselves to think and learn really is increasing the level of helplessness in our society) I think the real problem is that we have or are most definitely forgotten how to communicate - - - because we really don't!!! The idea with writing is that one can communicate - - - have worked with those that can read anything unless it is printed (wow - - - huge handicap!). Now one gets notifications for most everything - - - why - - - because it makes one feel good - - - is that what communication is all about - - - feeling good?!!? So - - - can we change the direction of the thundering herd? (I think that that is the crucial question - - in point of fact!) Regards