Now open for business

The CANWINE Yahoo Group is up and running: once you're logged in, I expect all those promises to post more will be fulfilled.

You'll note that I've switched the column items to subscribe to the blog RSS feed and the subscribe-by-email over to an icon that links to the new subscribe mechanism at Yahoo, and this works quite well. I've also dug out the old subscriber list, and sending out emails to advise folks of the changeover.

Please note that sometime early in December, I will be killing off the feeds, removing names from the subscription list, and letting the blog function solely as a reference page to Yahoo (i.e., no new posts will go up on the blog), so you're advised to change your subscription over by then.

Under Construction

Well, I had another look at Yahoo Groups, and they have changed substantially since the last time I looked at using them to power CANWINE.

I'm still not 100% keen on them, but most of my concerns have been addressed: the biggest downer, for me, is losing the real-time interactivity that a blog demands. It's what's happening, we had a nice little readership base that was new from the move, and, to be honest, it's where the web is eventually heading anyway.

A Yahoo Group allows for some of that functionality, but not quite in the same way: I'm also thinking about starting up a CANWINE group in Facebook, if anyone is interested in using that format for real-time wine tasting parties.

So there's still a lot of construction dust (and will be for awhile), and I suggest you wear your hardhat, but you keeners can visit http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/canwine to stick your hands in the wet cement. I will be sending out an email to all currently subscribed members here on the blog to notify them of the shift, and possibly a blanket mailing out to everyone who was on the old list as well but who didn't make the leap here.

The People Have Spoken

Or emailed. (grin)

And this is why you folks are the greatest.

I've switched the list over to letting anyone post, subject to moderation and "type the funny combination you see here" box: if you're already listed as a member, you should (should being the operative word) bypass part two (although you may not!). (Do what you need to do when asked, and let me know any grumpiness.)

This should (should being the operative word again) obviate the need to go through the log-in procedure, and open up the posting and comment procedure to anyone, subject to moderation. Let's try this and see how it goes.

If you haven't already, I strongly urge you to subscribe to the email service (in the left margin) so you'll find out when something new is posted.

Meanwhile, I'll look at Yahoo Groups again: I realize some of you are keen for this option, but it does come with a serious downside. Let me ponder it yet again.

CANWINE Quietness

There is plenty to discuss concerning Canadian wines these days, so it's strange and disconcerting to see CANWINE become so quiet. Though it looks spiffy and all, I have to think that the blog format is part of the problem. Let's face it - we're all busy with many things, and small impediments can spell the difference between posting a message and not bothering... and the blog format puts up just enough impediments, for me at least, that I haven't bothered for many months.

For discussion groups, I much prefer the tried and true mailing list. The majority of my "computer time" is centered around email, and my mail client software is a fast, familiar and convenient interface for dealing with messages. I'm on a lot of mailing lists, and each one has its own folder. I can see at a glance when new messages have arrived on a particular list, and I can quickly zip over to scan them. If I want to post a reply, I can do that quickly and easily, using the same interface I use for all my other mail. No going off to a browser, finding the right bookmark, logging into a website, dealing with a slow, clunky interface to read and post messages, and so on. Impediments, impediments!

And here's a real impediment: bugginess. Some months ago I tried to post an account of my wine tasting expedition to Prince Edward County. I spent more than an hour typing it into the blog composer, selected "publish post", and... it vanished without a trace. It never appeared on the blog, and there was no backup available... it just went into a sinkhole somewhere. All that time was wasted, and I haven't been back since. Once bitten... It looks like that bug may be fixed now, and there is now an auto-save feature, but still, that kind of annoying experience tends to stay with you.

I know that you can get CANWINE messages sent by email, and I have that option enabled, but that only solves part of the problem. I want to both receive and post messages without ever logging in anywhere. One possibility might be to move CANWINE to a Yahoo Group. Their format is superior to the blog one, I think, because it offers both kinds of access. You can treat it like a conventional mailing list, and never have to visit the website (unless you want to change your settings), or you can use it as an online forum that is similar to this one, and not use email at all - your choice.

Regardless of whether it changes or not, I will try to post some actual wine comments to CANWINE, but I thought it would be useful to start a discussion about whether the current blog format is inhibiting the wine talk. Comments?

Barry