RE: technology and XMCA

From: Nate Schmolze (schmolze@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Tue Feb 01 2000 - 05:18:31 PST


Phil,

I played around with listbot for someone else that wanted a list serv and it
is "free" in some senses but not others. The free version has about a 24
hour turn around which can be very inconvenient for something like XCMA but
no big deal for more personal uses. The glitch or catch being, like some
email, you have an ad on each message.

The logic of listbot like other free services is the ads and their
"freeness" will only last as long as their profitable. The big thing with a
lot of this stuff is how to make money with it. So, while its "free" in the
loose sense of the word it is not like listbot is giving away a free
service, but rather selling an ad space to the most distributed audience
possible.

About 5 years ago Slate was charging $20 subscription for their service and
went free because they made more money. By having it free they could
guarantee more people would see them and therefore make more money.

Free---> Access -----> Profit

Nate

-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Graham [mailto:phil.graham@mailbox.uq.edu.au]
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2000 11:28 PM
To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
Subject: RE: technology and XMCA

Mike,

there's a free web-bot called www.listbot.com which seems to be free of
catches, glitches, and charges (of course, it can't possibly be, if so,
can't possibly last). It's an MSN (Microsoft and Nine Network, a local media
oligopolist).

Naively
Phil

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Cole [mailto:mcole@weber.ucsd.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, 1 February 2000 12:41
> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: technology and XMCA
>
>
>
> I am totally open to invitations to move XMCA to some far away server
> that will cut down on the overhead of the discussion and increase the
> possiblity of creating some social intelligence martin. Right now, as
> you can see, we simply bumble along with help from our friends.
>
> I tend personally to work at the loser end of the game (as in user is
> loser) and work through a unix systtem that in unfriendly to
> attachments.
> By keeping my equipment primitive, relative, say, to the
> equipment used
> by some of my colleagues in the sciences, I run into all sorts of
> glitches. It helps me to sympathize with my students who feel and are
> left behind because that do not know how to log on from home and among
> them those for whome the costs appear fearsome.
>
> If there were some way to accomodate many levels of access/expertise
> and memory access as well, I am all for it. But as we all realize,
> it is the continuity of people that is essential, the overlap
> of generations. Which it no reason not to use the best tools you can
> come up with!
> mike
>
>



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