Hello,
The reason why I read the Listserve emails is not for the stories, the anecdotes, the new insights or the advice. What interests me is the question: what do people write when they have the chance to say something to a lot of people? And, why do they choose that particular topic?
If I were to summarize the different responses people gave over the years, I would say that they most often use one of the following forms: this is what I do, this is who I am, this happened to me, this is what I love, this helped me, this could help you, this is funny or this tastes very good.
So, what does this say about us? Well, frankly, I don't know. What I do know is that I miss one kind of category. This category entails emails about the Listserve itself. No lengthy discussion on this peculiar, virtual platform. No comprehensive study on the way people answer the Listserve's request. Don't worry, I am not going to start now, but it is kind of interesting, isn't it?
I, for one, always end up with questions like these. With 'questions like these' I mean questions that play at some sort of meta-level. I cannot look at something without being aware of the way I am looking. Or, more or less concrete example, when I am having a dicussion I often end up discussing the way we are discussing. This not infrequently to the frustration of the one sitting opposit of me. With the Listserve this is the same. Even though I somethimes enjoy the content, I always wander off. Why do people invent things like the Listserve, and why is nobody writing about this? Are other people wondering the same, and do they also wonder if other people are wondering about what they are wondering about?
I, as you might have guessed, can stay in metapotamia all day long. Not in the sense that I have the capacity for it, but in the sense that I enjoy it. For me it is like using a shovel. When done using it you often just have a hole in the ground, and, well, that isn't much to show for. You can try and sit in it, but it probably isn’t very comfortable. Often, when you start digging, all you find is another layer of dirt. Dirt not meaning something purely negative of course. Sometimes you find something you wouldn't find above ground, sometimes you hit rock bottom. But it's always good excercise.
This very vague analogy may be the reason why the Listserve email only saying “Buy a bulldozer” still intrigues me.
On purpose or not, I leave many questions open. If you, despite this, feel like responding, I will gladly read it. Me and my mind are starting up a business, so everything that can spark up anything is welcome. I might even send an email back depending on, well, unkown future things.
Best whishes,
Andert
[email protected]
Amsterdam