>I would be sorry to see museum discussion lists fragmenting into one for
>each country. It seems to me that most professional issues are of
>interest independent of country, and I would hate to have to subscribe
>to umpteen lists to keep track of different people's views. It would
>also make each list more parochial in its discussions.


You are right when you're talking about general museum issues. Those are
independent of country. But what about the policy of the Dutch government,
the software Dutch museums use, fundraising in the Netherlands and other
practical issues (like where can I buy something like..). There really are a
lot of  (practical) issues that are of local interest.

>The great advantage of the Internet is that it transcends national
>boundaries. If you have an issue of interest, raise it on this list and
>let's all discuss it. Even problems arising from local situations may
>well benefit from the comments of people in other countries who have had
>to deal with similar issues. The way to have a lively and relevant list
>is to participate, not desert it if it doesn't reflect your interests.


I would not call it desertion, as there are very few Dutch museums present
on this list. Why are they not participating? Do they not know about this
list? I think they do. I think that it just does not fit their needs. And
maybe a national list will.
It's not my aim to lure people away from this list. I just wanted Dutch
subscribers to know that there's also a Dutch mailinglist now. And I hope
for a lot of subscribers, who never wanted to join museum-l anyway.

>If you think there is a need for a list in the Dutch language, that is
>or course a different issue, but in my experience Dutch people all speak
>excellent English!


A lot of Dutch people speak English, sure. But when we're speaking English,
our accent gives us away pretty soon. Most of us, anyway. Then a few grammar
mistakes don't matter. But when you're writing English, it's a totally
different thing. It's much harder. I think that language too can prevent
people from subscribing to this list.

Greetings,

Karin Meijerman

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://museums.state.nm.us/nmmnh/museum-l.html. You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).