Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 11:54
From: Roger
I've read some of Pavlov's work, found it to be quite illuminating, and can't understand why his name is sometimes used as a term of contempt. I must confess I do not know the meaning of "arborific." (I looked it up in the American Heritage Dictionary and didn't find it there. Does it have something to do with trees?)
In any case, a less elementary system of incentives than what you remember from grade school could probably be developed to encourage greater use of listserve among graduate students. In the final analysis, however, I still think some limited amount of required participation would be better.
Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 11:46
From: Karen
Sorry about the confusion...I was referring to the Deleuze and Guattari article we read for class that that refers to rhizomatic vs. arborific behavior (I think Randy used the term in class a few times as well). I simply meant that I think a system of rewards fosters hierarchies (arborific behavior)--i.e., if I post a lot to the listserv, I will get an "A".
You very well may be right. However, I guess we would have to see some sort of system in action before any of us could really determine its efficacy.
Fri, 2 May 1997 14:25
From: Roger B.
Subject: Re: Listserv feelings
Oh yeah. I guess it does have to do with trees, afterall. I wonder why they didn't use "arboreal" or "arboreous," both of which can mean "tree-like." Maybe they invented it to signify something slightly different. Or maybe they have a better dictionary than mine.