[Lowfer] hiFER - SIW

[JD]

>>> for some reason, a format that died in 1985 has most of the activity.

Obviously, then, reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. ;>)

Now, recognizing that you can't please all of the people all of the time, 
and you can't please some people any of the time, I probably shouldn't even 
bother.  But I'm confined indoors today with nothing better to do, so...

Web browsing has only been around in its most primitive form since 1990, 
whereas email dates back to 1973 in its earliest form, and in its more 
nearly modern SMTP form since 1982.  So if only the latest, trendiest 
"format" is worth using, why are email reflectors like this still popular? 
Why aren't we all using some exclusive custom "lowfer app" on smartphones 
instead?

Answer: Because email is simple, universally available, and--as long as you 
have an administrative staff with time to keep up with all the antispam guff 
you have to deal with on a daily basis--it's reasonably reliable.  Qth.net 
has done a splendid job in that department over recent years.

Web message boards are _also_ simple, universally available, and reliable. 
In addition, our message board has a search feature right there on screen 
that makes it easier to find past topics.  Yes, Web sites take an extra 
mouse click to access once your browser is open, while email immediately 
dumps everything into your lap.  But for most people, who are aware that 
their browser has a Favorites or Bookmark feature, that one extra click 
hardly constitutes "I have to go out of my way to find."

"Nothing posted there that couldn't be posted here..."  And vice-versa!

But the fact is, to meet the needs of its most active users, this reflector 
has largely evolved away from Part 15 activity, while the Longwave Messsage 
Board retains that emphasis a bit more.  On the message board, HiFER posts 
do not get swamped amongst other types of content as much as they would 
here.  That's why it's more practical for them to use the board.

Each tool serves its audience in its own way.  No point railing against that 
just because it doesn't fit one's own personal sense of techno-aesthetics.