Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1652, 29 December 2013
Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2013 17:27:49 -0700 (MST)
From: mead-request@talisman.com


Mead Lover's Digest #1652                                  29 December 2013

                      Mead Discussion Forum

Contents:
  next-to-last Mead-Lover's Digest (Mead Lovers Digest Admin)

NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com.
Use mead-request@talisman.com for [un]subscribe and admin requests.
Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead#Archives
A searchable archive is at http://www.gotmead.com/mldarchives.html
Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn
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Subject: next-to-last Mead-Lover's Digest
From: mead-request@talisman.com (Mead Lovers Digest Admin)
Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2013 17:24:35 -0700 (MST)

This is the penultimate issue[*] of the Mead-Lover's Digest.
Yes, I am serious, and
No, I won't change my mind.
It's time to be practical, not sentimental.  The MLD is moribund--the most
recent posting and digest were eight weeks ago.  There have been eight
lapses this year of more than two weeks between issues.  Submissions are
down by almost half compared to last year, and the subscriber list is
shrinking year-on-year.

[*] "penultimate issue":  I'll put out this issue, which I'm sure will
generate responses, possibly including people who want to pick up the
torch and create some new forum.
Note that I cannot just give out the mailing list to anybody who wants to
try, because the list has always been confidential--and I've promised that.
However, the final issue will allow people to say, "Hey, contact me if
you're interested in starting something new."
I'll probably wait most of a week before putting out the last issue, just
to get past the holidays.

NOTE:  Archives of the MLD will remain available!  I have no intention of
removing them.

More thoughts...

In mid-2011, the MLD went quiet for so long that I posed the question
of whether the Digest should be shut down.  The reaction, not surprisingly,
was an outburst of support for the MLD and also a spate of postings and
replies.  At the time, I thought that perhaps the MLD had only gone into
the doldrums temporarily, and that my challenge had startled people enough
to awaken interest which created some serious discussion.

But it didn't last...not at all.  The MLD faded again in mid-2012--a 5
week lull, then another later, and many more in 2013.  Now here we are, no
postings in eight weeks.  It is time to face the truth:  The Mead-Lover's
Digest is no longer sufficiently relevant.

I'll repeat what I said in 2011:  It's no problem to me to run the MLD.
However, it's wrong to hold it out as a potential resource, especially
for new meadmakers, and then not deliver the goods.  Or, as I've said for
many years:  As long as you folks provide the material, I'll run the
digest.  In recent years, especially this year, the material just hasn't
been there, so enough.  Let's not keep the MLD "alive" (really moribund, as
I said) out of sentimental reasons.  Move on.  Perhaps, with the MLD out of
the way, there will be space for something new.

If somebody wants to create a modernized "MLD v 2.0", great!
HOWEVER, I would caution anyone considering this, to compare to the Cider
Digest:  CD has the identical format, distribution mechanism, source,
tools, etc., to the MLD.  The Cider Digest is adding subscribers at about
10% per year and has had few long gaps without postings.  The MLD subscriber
list shrank about 2.5% in 2013 (so far) and has had eight gaps of two weeks
or more without a posting this year alone.

(I suspect one reason for the fading of the MLD is that gotmead.com is
doing such a good job.  That's where the action is.  More power to them!)
- ---
Mead-Lover's Digest                            mead-request@talisman.com
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor                  Boulder County, Colorado  USA

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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1652
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