Normally I don't respond to postings on the 3000-L, but I have been asked
by some folks in the 3000 community to respond and I feel that the thread,
"Taming the Error Monster Chat Transcript Now Available on 3kworld",
warrants a response. (So to those of you who consider this a waste of
bandwidth, I both apologize and agree. I realize that I'm responding to
the same small group that is responsible for most of the criticism
directed towards 3kworld.)

The thread in question addresses a number of topics and I will try to
cover as many of them as possible, I apologize in advance for the length
of this posting. It is not my intention to get into a running battle with
anyone regarding this topic, we all have better things to do. That said...

The question of whether 3kworld postings have a place on the 3000-L has
been asked in the past, mainly with regards to postings that are
considered to be not much more than advertisements because they contain a
short message and a link. I have listened to 3000-L subscribers and think
long and hard before posting anything on the L. For the past few months I
have only posted items that I feel are of value to the 3000 community and
not those that would only benefit 3kworld. It is for that reason that I
didn't make a posting titled, "Check out 3kworld's new look" this week
even though I knew it would, "put eyes on their page", another frequent
criticism of 3kworld. While there are those who criticize 3kworld's
postings to the L, there are more people who simply read the articles and,
presumably, get something more out of them than a commercial message. I
say this because I've had more requests for copies of chat transcript than
I've had complaints about posting it on the 3000-L. I've also received
requests asking that I post chat information earlier than I do today. We
post chat transcripts, and other links to technical information, because
there is a demand for this sort of information. We post them on the L
because that's where the people who would benefit the most from this
information gather.

This brings up the general question of what is "spam", what is an
advertisement and what is a legitimate posting? Why is it that when
3kworld posts a link to a chat transcript that is 3000-specific some
members of the community go up in arms because 3kworld is a "commercial
site"? An HP employee recently posted links to e3000 Success Stories and
no one complained. In fact, I have posted transcript links for every chat
we've done on 3kworld so far and this is the first time someone has
thought of it as advertising. We're just trying to make the information
available to the widest audience possible.

Ken Sletton's post asks for a sort of "one-to-one" opportunity to kick ads
off of 3kworld every time we post on the L. Ken, do you think that 3kworld
postings somehow "bump" other more "legitimate" postings from the L?
Further, Ken, I have personally asked you to contribute to 3kworld, and
you have declined. I'll put forth the offer to you, and any other
interested parties, again. Any time you would like to pen a guest opinion
piece for 3kworld I will run it on the front page. I won't censor it and
I'll make sure lots of people see it (but I won't post it on the L and I
hope you won't either). What's more, if you and 30 other members of the
3000-L community would like volunteer to host chats, answer questions on
message boards and participate in 3kworld we would welcome you with open
arms, that's what an online community is all about. We've been asked to
particpate in the 3000 community more and we will, but we're also asking
the 3000 community participate in 3kworld. We will all benefit from a
positive relationship.

The feedback I've received from individuals in the 3000 community leads me
to believe that there are a lot people who find 3kworld a valuable
resource and benefit from the information we offer. We listen to your
feedback, both positive and negative, and hope to participating in the HP
e3000 community for a long time to come.

Thanks.

----------

> From: Shawn Gordon [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
...
> I'm of the opinion that if someone is actively supporting our
> little niche, then the least we can do is put up with a little
> bandwidth from them.

I tend to agree with Shawn.  However, I think many of us on the
3000-L list would appreciate it if 3kworld and Client Systems
PARTICIPATED in the 3000-L list more interactively, rather than
simply posting a URL to the 3kworld site.  I also dismiss the
perspective that 3kworld is the "bad guy".  They want nothing
more than many of the other vendors here (including us, CSY!) and
that is to promote the e3000, to ensure its longevity, to make
some profit along the way, to educate its users so that they
keep their 3000 and find new uses for it, to help 3000 customers
be successful, etc.  These objectives seem good to me.

My 2 cents worth,

 Jeff Vance, CSY

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Posted from www.3kworld.com