I've been trying to resist commenting on this issue, but after the
message from Bart Hays, I can no longer hold back. Bart, your point
about peers helping each other is not in dispute. The questions are: (1)
Is a professional listserv an appropriate place to locate housing--even
if such housing is needed to support a professional's career? (2) Is a
professional listserv an efficient place to find housing?
    As far as #1 is concerned, I think the argument about peers helping
each other is specious. I don't see a great deal of difference between a
museum person helping another find housing or a gas cap. I'm not
convinced that housing or the lack thereof is so relevant to a museum
career that it merits discussion on a world-wide list--it's a local
issue. I think that if this were a moderated list, the owner would
likely consider a request for housing information beyond the scope of
the list.
     #2. Is Museum-L the most efficient way to find housing in
Manhattan? I wouldn't think so. The percentage of people on Museum-L who
live and work in Manhattan has to be small (even if it's the largest
single geographical area), and I suspect very few people in, say, New
Zealand, are going to be able to advise. I'm in Washington and I haven't
a clue about where to live in New York. Furthermore, if a new
Smithsonian employee needed housing in Washington and asked me for
advice, I wouldn't have a clue about that either! There may be museum
professionals who keep their finger on the pulse of their local housing
market, but I'm not one of them. I may be wrong in thinking that a high
percentage of museum professionals are similar to me in this respect,
but I there must be better ways to find housing than to ask a listserv
of people in your field who are scattered all around the world, most of
whom can do no more than offer moral support and hope that your
illustrious career doesn't go down the tubes because you couldn't find a
place to live and had to sacrifice a job. If anyone asks me for housing
advice, I'll be happy to look up a few phone numbers out of my yellow
pages for them or mail them a copy of the newspaper real estate and
apartment ad sections--maybe even make a few phone calls, but unless I
happen by chance to have inside information on a super deal that
suddenly just became available, what else could I offer the inquirer?
      As a more efficient alternative, there must be other Internet
resources that would help people find housing, regardless of profession.
Indeed, what does one's profession have to do with anything? Another
option might be to call an individual at the institution where the new
job is located and ask them to post an inquiry on a bulletin board,
either electronic or the old-fashioned kind. This would avoid bothering
people who are in no position to help because they're geographically out
of range and could reach employees who have had to drop off Museum-L
BECAUSE THE VOLUME OF IRRELEVANT MAIL IS SO HIGH (subtle hint).
Certainly it's true that sometimes employees can provide inside
information about desirable housing locations from various
standpoints--environment, transportation convenience, etc., roommates
seeking kindred spirits, etc. But for basic general housing advice in a
specific region, a plumbing listserv might be just as useful as
Museum-L. Let me close with a pesonal anecdote, for what it's worth:
Many years ago a colleague moved to Washington after getting a museum
job (I met him after his move). He called a professional friend of a
friend in the area and requested her assistance in locating a house him,
on the assumption that people in his field should help each other.
Somewhat nonplussed--as she didn't know him from Adam--she went to a lot
of trouble for him, making phone calls and even seeing realtors on his
behalf, as one thing led to another. Since he had cited their mutual
friend (and their related professions) as justifications for her to aid
him, she went along with it but ended up considering it a great
imposition after it snowballed. They eventually became friends, but she
felt that he was presumptuous and arrogant, and it took her a while to
get over the resentment. She's generous and doesn't mind helping a
friend or colleague in areas that are logical and make sense, but
ultimately felt that it was above and beyond the call of duty to go to
this trouble for a stranger who just happened to be in her field.
        There's nothing egregious about a request for non-professional
information on a professional listserv. I'm making these comments only
because the argument has been in progress, and some people seem to have
taken comments too personally or don't understand the objections that
were advanced. This is not a big deal. We're talking generally about
what subjects are appropriate on a professional listserv and reasons pro
and con. The original message was not a horrible spam; there was a
rationale behind it, however flimsy (oops! sorry!) but it is still worth
considering the fact that extraneous messages do clog a listserv and
discourage people from using it professionally. "Hit the delete button"
is no comfort when you need to do it 20 or 30 times per session--and a
busy professional with valuable information about professional matters
drops out due to lack of time. --David Haberstich