Date:  Tue, 9 Dec 1997 16:59:25 +0000
From:  Lynne Murphy <M_Lynne_Murphy[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BAYLOR.EDU>
Subject: Re: The list; FAQ

i agreed with all jesse sheidlower said about the state of the list:
moderation is a major job; it's tough, if not impossible, to balance the
desire to have a professional forum and the desire to convert linguistic
neophytes; faq's make us feel better, but don't actually solve problems;
there are other forums for lay people's questions about language. on
the last two points, a faq would be more useful if it were not just
something sent out at the beginning of the subscription, but posted to
the list (or to an individual) at times when people complain about the
level of the discussion, and it would be most useful if it informed
people of other venues in which they could have their questions
answered. the alt.english.usage discussion, the ask-a-linguist service,
and some web sites may be good directions in which to point.

as for having undergrads join the list, while i too want my students to
be exposed to other ideas and to discuss linguistic matters outside of
class, many undergrads (i.e., some in any class) will not benefit much
by experience in a high-falutin' place like this--either because they
are intimidated by or lost in it or because they do not realize how
high-falutin' we actually are. for my linguistics classes, i'm doing a
intra-university listserv, through which my students can communicate
about the issues we've discussed in class, forward messages and websites
of interest to us, etc. (i, of course, forward appropriate things from
the lists i belong to). next semester, we hope to have a linguistics
club here, and then the list will be open to its members, people in my
classes, or alumni of linguistics classes. i'd recommend this
arrangement to others teaching undergrad linguistics. it works well.

best,
lynne
--

M. Lynne Murphy
Assistant Professor in Linguistics
Department of English
Baylor University
PO Box 97404
Waco, TX 76798