<incom> FW: [bytesforall_readers] What is the 1% rule?

[Zielinski, Christopher]

Hello Trebor,

To offer part of an answer to your final questions, "how does somebody who is out of sight add to the content of a conversation, to collective value? How does such imperceptible list member inspire a group?": I have been on lists where I knew there were some quite eminent persons lurking (and, admittedly, occasionally contributing)- Vint Cerf on the ISDF list, for example - and this simple fact coloured and even distorted the conversation noticably, particularly when we were discussing such "Vint topics" as ICANN. This example suggests a general principle of writing for an audience, and the constant role of such an audience, however silent it may be.

Chris

-----Original Message-----
From: Trebor Scholz [mailto:trebor at thing.net] 
Sent: 25 July 2006 15:53
To: incommunicado
Cc: Zielinski, Christopher
Subject: RE: <incom> FW: [bytesforall_readers] What is the 1% rule?

Sorry if I was not clear enough. 

I proposed that non-posting does not add to the *communal* value of a
list. It¹s productive if people are following an exchange, forwarding
posts, or using them as source material in their teaching, for example.

Such ³silent participation² propels the visibility of those who do
contribute as they step onto a more noticeable platform. In that sense a
silent majority does add to the value of a forum.

Participation, of course, has no inherent value. Subscribers who only
speak when they have actually something to say are my personal
favorites. 

However, how does somebody who is out of sight add to the content of a
conversation, to collective value? How does such imperceptible list
member inspire a group? 

-Trebor

>An interesting thought about the value of the silent majority, Trebor -
"reading the list and spreading the 
>word are helpful activities but they don¹t add to the communal value of
a forum." Surely a forum that has 
>10,000 silent members with 10 people talking is somehow more potent
than one which has 1,000 silent 
>members and 10 people talking? Do reading the list and spreading the
word really have no value to a 
>forum? Most governments are like the former...
>
>Note that I am not praising the virtues of silence, just suggesting
there is at least some value in having 
>many attentive eyes.
>
>Chris
>
>Chris Zielinski
>WHO Geneva
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: incom-l-bounces at incommunicado.info
[mailto:incom-l-bounces at incommunicado.info] On Behalf 
>Of Trebor Scholz
>Sent: 25 July 2006 14:27
>To: incommunicado
>Subject: Re: <incom> FW: [bytesforall_readers] What is the 1% rule?
>
>As Geert mentions it is perhaps not surprising that the moderators post
>more to drive things ahead. But there are plenty of examples of lists
>where facilitators do not post more than others (i.e. Spectre). It¹s
>also not too astonishing that, I think, only an average of 15% of
people
>on a list actually post to it. Could a consistent, fairly narrow
topical
>orientation of a list be a reason of engagement of small groups of
those
>who are subscribed? 
>  
>I¹d be curious to learn, however, who makes up the other 51% on this
>list. What¹s the ratio between subscribed women and those who post, for
>example? (We had a brief discussion about the same issue on the iDC
>list.) Another aspect is the content of posts (e.g. announcements vs.
>debate).  
>
>What are the reasons for the non-participation of whole segments of
list
>members? By participation I mean actual posting: reading the list and
>spreading the word are helpful activities but they don¹t add to the
>communal value of a forum.  
>
>best,
>Trebor Scholz 
>
>PS:
>The thread that I refer to is called ³Where have all the women gone?²
>http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/2006-July/thread.html
>
>  
>
>>On 23-Jul-06, at 4:47 PM, Ralf Bendrath wrote:
>>
>>> Just out of curiosity: What's the ratio on this list?
>>>
>>>> It's an emerging rule of thumb that suggests that if you get a  
>>>> group of 100 people online then one will create content, 10 will  
>>>> "interact" with it (commenting or offering improvements) and the  
>>>> other 89 will just view it.
>>
>>My filtered email folder for incom from March 22/04 to date (28  
>>months) has approx. 1302 messages on file (That's "approx" because If  
>>I forwarded something to someone and they replied to me personally  
>>without altering the subject heading it would still filter to my  
>>folder.  I didn't check throughly for those).
>>
>>39% of the subscribers (148 of a total of 383) posted at least once.
>>
>>Only three people, Zehle, Gurstein and Lovink, (0.8% of subscribers)  
>>accounted for 49% of postings (639 postings out of 1302).
>>
>>Garth Graham
>>
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