Internet Issues

[Devin P Browne]

On Thu, 29 Feb 1996, Martha Sherwood wrote:

> CHAIN LETTERS: Concerning chain letters and other letters sent with
> requests to broadcast them widely, much of the clutter and offense would be
> eliminated if the persons forwarding the communications read them
> thoroughly and considered whether the particular list to which they were
> forwarding the communication contained a significant number of people who
> would use them (in the process, they could also do some editing which would
> satisfy a university E-mail server that the communication was not a simple
> chain letter, a concern for some respondents).  I think most of us are
> trained to feel that something must be done with any communication; the
> easiest thing to do is to forward it without giving it much attention.

Hi Martha--I wanted to reply to the issue you're addressing re chain
letters, especially since you used my message as the example.  I agree
that some people too quickly forward a message on without really thinking
about it.  But it's important to remember that, although the message
might be something *you* would dismiss, others may find it of interest.
There are, for instance, K-12 teachers of Russian on this list--myself
being one of them.  I also teach French.  I know firsthand that resources
for the K-12 Russian teacher are SCARCE, to say the least (although it is
getting better).  What the internet has done for K-12 Russian teachers
is: 1) made it easier to communicate with colleagues of the same learning
level all over the world;  2) made it MUCH easier to communicate with
individuals in Russian-speaking countries.

The internet has also fostered colleagiality (sp?) among those spread out
over the world, and I feel it has fostered a sense of helpfulness.  I
have benefitted greatly by advice and assistance offered to me via the
'net.  Now I feel that I can return the favor.  When I see a message from
someone for whom I may be able to help out, I try to do so, or I try to
introduce him/her to others who may be able to provide assistance.

With that in mind, I am usually happy to forward information to a list
when I think that *someone* on that list may appreciate it.  I'm not
foolish enough to think that it will be something *everyone* will be
into--but that's what the DELETE key is for.  And yes, bandwith is an
issue for some.  But penpals are an issue for some as well, especially
K-12 teachers.  And, by the way, there was a contact e-mail address in
the message that I sent--I don't know if the reference below is to my
message or not.


> This last paragraph was prompted by receiving from three different
> Slavic-related mail lists a request for pen-pals from a Moscow secondary
> school.  There was nothing inherently wrong with the intent behind the
> communication, which might have been of interest to undergraduate Russian
> majors, but the communication contained no usable reply address, something
> that would have been obvious to anyone who tried to make use of it.


Anyway, Martha, I hope I don't sound too defensive.  It's just wrong to
assume that because a message doesn't interest you, that it's not of
interest to anyone else, or that it was sent without any thought behind
it.  Hope you don't take offense....


Devin Browne
Clairton Education Center
dpbrowne+ at pitt.edu