These are comments regarding a listserv from a different course (involving some of the same people as participated in this listserv) from fall, 1997:
Also related to this issue...I'm disappointed with the number of people who contribute to our Web discussion group. There should be more voices than the half dozen that consistently post messages. Hasn't ANYTHING that's been said there been worthy of reacting to? With both the calendar and discussion group, I think the problem is that the WWW is not yet enough a part of our daily lives (the realization of which is fundamental to the direction of the CCT program). Does building so many online community-building features presuppose something that doesn't even exist?
I don't think that the content of what is posted is the problem because everyone in this program is actively interested in the development of CCT.
I don't think that online discussion can ever supplant face-to-face communication, which is far more rewarding than chatting online. Most of us do lots of discussion outside of class, so I think many people are less inclined to get online. In my mind, online discussion forums are primarily for those who are geographically separated, not so much for those of us who see each other daily. You may be correct in that we are pre-supposing something that isn't necessarily useful to us.
I spend enough time on the computer-I don't need to spend more time in a Web discussion group. I'd prefer to talk about issues in person or on the phone, but it's point well taken anyway.