[amsat-bb] Slack vs. eMail -- The medium is the message

[Bruce Perens]

Sigh. The main advantage seems to be shutting out what you don't wish to
see. IMO members have a duty to involve themselves in the organization,
rather than changing the channel as if this was the annual PBS telethon and
they watch for free all year. AMSAT is not a public utility, paying your
dues once a year and going back to being on the air is not sufficient to
keep the satellites flying.

On Tue, Jul 14, 2020 at 9:53 AM Eli Caul via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
wrote:

> In my corporate experience, you need to be very careful with these
> solutions - -It sounds great at first, but what ends up happening is you
> create so many sub groups in an effort to cover every interest that you end
> up with a big splintered environment in which you can’t find anything.
>
> Also, IM solutions like Teams, Slack etc are really trying to solve a
> different problem.   They are great for short sprints, projects, service
> outages and the like, but the messages tend to be very ephemeral.
>
> We tried this in a few of the car clubs I participate in, and the people
> who suffer the most are casual visitors.    They read digests, or just
> browse the list a few times a month and they get caught up.
>
> In an IM environment, it seems that you have to be on it every day or else
> things get lost in the sands of time.
>
> We run a hybrid solution at work that might work well for AMSAT.   Leave
> the mailing list(s) basically as is, and then set up a Slack type solution
> for special projects, or intense conversations like the recent thread re:
> Amsat management and direction.
>
> Sharing my experience, HTH, etc etc
>
> '73 de KK6ZHZ
>
> - Eli Caul
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org> On Behalf Of Robert MacHale
> via AMSAT-BB
> Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2020 07:23
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Slack vs. eMail -- The medium is the message
>
> Can I suggest moving AMSAT member communications from eMail to Slack?
>
> When I taught at UC Riverside last year - we used Slack to communicate
> with students. The tech companies I have worked with in Southern California
> have used Slack for many years. Recently, I noticed the Parrot Disco (RC
> Glider) club uses Slack to communicate with volunteers and members:
>
> https://github.com/uavpal/disco4g
>
> The benefit to Slack is having channels for each topic. In this case,
> discussion about Board Membership can be in it's own channel. People who
> are not interested are not required to read.
>
> Each technology can have it's own channel. Each project can have it's own
> channel. And, members can find each other easily.
> This current eMail subscription for all things creates a pain point -
> encouraging everyone to read everything.
> I highly recommend the Board of Directors evaluate Slack as a replacement
> for eMail; the corporate cost per user in low compared to value: excellent
> ROI. Remember, eMail subscriptions became popular in the 1980s. This
> protocol is entirely outdated and outmoded for conversations today. Keep in
> mind, the Medium is the message - another reminder AmSat has become
> outdated and outmoded and not keeping up with the times.
> Slack has been a positive and transforming tool employed on many projects
> I have worked with recently.
> Sincerely,
>
> Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License. http://www.aprsat.com/predict .
> http://www.spaceCommunicator.club . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in
> Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration
>
> _______________________________________________
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> views of AMSAT-NA.
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> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
> expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>


-- 
Bruce Perens - CEO at stealth startup. I'll tell you what it is eventually
:-)