Mailing lists

Something i havent paid much attention to the last few years is mailing lists, the old way of staying connected thru the Internet. Many people stopped using these because they come thru email and most people get too much email. The great thing about them tho is that they come straight to your mail box, a place that most people visit everyday. You dont have to go to a separate website or open an RSS utility, a less frequent activity. Using modern email filters (sometimes called 'rules') and separate mail boxes, you can segregate the emails for a later more convenient time to read.

I was reminded of this because i subscribed to Yahoo's MPS Parent Forum list. This has become a very active and pretty raucous list, tho not in a mean or offensive way. Discussions are critical and candid. Many MPS district people, including teachers, find this kind of 'difficult to control thing' forbidding. A couple of years ago i tried to get a list for ESL teachers started but people in charge of things like this didnt want to allow it because it is difficult to control what issues will arise and what people say about them. It is true that subscribers have to accept and frequently be reminded of several ground rules that keep a list civil, on-topic, positive and productive. But there is a great deal of value in open-ended discussions because it surfaces what is really on people's minds and addresses those issues frankly. Mailing lists can make an incredible amount of relevant information and expertise available and can facilitate networking in a very effective way.

The MPS Parent Forum messages have long threads about about vital issues that affect the viability of the MPS school district functioning and it's ability to compete with private and charter schools. These are issues that many district officials, schools and teachers willingly ignore. And in a large diverse district like MPS there is a lot going on at the grassroots level that is difficult to stay apprised of in any other way.

Login difficulties

I have not logged-in in a while and have changed laptops. My old one disintegrated. I spent hours trying to login, going in Google circles. The ticket turned out to be to go to preferences and clear the cookies. Apparently, when you "sign out" on Google, the cookies are not deleted.

It is the paranoid side of my personality, but i find this to be ominous. Google always knows who you are, where you have been, and what you have been up to. Life in the future will be totally transparent, as will our souls.