Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl01259)

On Thu, 23 May 1996, Blavatsky Foundation wrote:
>
> Some people on Theos-l have pointed out that the T.S. in Wheaton has been
> losing membership in the last few years.  But it looks like these Theosophical
> forums on the Internet are also losing subscribers.  With more and more people
> on the Internet, you would think we would be gaining in numbers instead of
> losing.
	Problem with the huge increase in Internet numbers is that the
vast majority coming online are after the latest fad ... the "Web".
Curiously enough, I'm on a good number of scientific lists and they also
seem to have been showing a slight decline lately.
	I wonder whether during the first real surge in popularity of the
Internet people subscribed to a good number lists just to listen - to be
in an informational "loop" of sorts in different arenas (I confess there
are a number of lists that I've never posted on, but just want to keep
abreast of what the dominant ideas in the fields). Now, however, with the
growth of the Web, and the huge increase in the distribution of the
software & hardware needed to surf it, perhaps some "lurkers" are now
dropping off listserv lists because the Web lets them do plenty of what
they want.
	It might be tempting to think that people are leaving `cause
they're "upset" or something, but when we speak of theos-l, I suppose it
cannot be forgotten that it *is* and Internet list ... and most of our
discussions are actually kinda tame compared to the norm of the medium.
There are always a couple people saying "this is the "last straw" and
leaving, but generally there are also a couple that start posting - a
continual, though slow turnover - interesting thing about theos-l,
however, is that the people who are really active have not, for the most
part, left, and a few new people are now beginning to post - the decline
seems to be mostly in the ranks of the lurkers ... and (as previously
mentioned) may be part of a larger trend on the Net rather than anything
specific to Theosophy or theos-l.
								-JRC