making book of discussion posts

[The Future]

Hello:
First time posting, long time viewer/reader.  I was wondering if anyone ever thought of creating a book from the old discussion posts (from the last forum, or even this one - probably good content to make a novel). I would imagine that permission/privacy would have to be granted and then the semi-anonymity would be lost, but just wondering (don't mean to start any fights or protest!  - just wondering) It was so rich with good advice or just plain descriptions of predicaments that academics go through - especially for people beginning their careers in academia.  The work-life balance section, and the posts about family, holidays, difficult co-workers was/is very helpful.  I saw just recently an academic journal that went to archiving by offering years/volumes to be purchased as books.  Anyway, just wanted to point out that the contributions here over the years would make a great book.  There was a columnist in my field, who retired a few years back, who used to compose really great pieces about real life in the profession.  Has anyone here thought of writing a book (fiction or non-fiction) about the life of a career academic?  I am not seeking to do this myself.  The reason why I bring this up is that when it was announced that the old platform would be replaced with this, I started to go back and read or reread posts.  I felt that I had to do as much as possible before the switch just in case all was lost.  So much good stuff.  Unfortunately some bad exchanges too, but a really good place to get some insight! 

[marshwiggle]

Welcome.

I believe that unfortunately all of the old forum discussions are essentially irretrievable. As far as useful information goes, I've thought that certain topics would actually be great to have condensed.

I'd include:

• Jedi Mind Tricks
• Sane Course Policies That Make Your Life Easier

Those in particular contain some wisdom.

[polly_mer]

People would not grant permission.  Many people didn't make the transition here because they were done with that period of their lives.  Some long-standing forumites with thousands of posts asked to have those posts deleted instead of archived with the previous fora.  They explicitly cited that they wanted an ephemeral experience and were surprised it had been so long.

As Marshwiggle wrote, certain threads would be worth consolidating and updating to be more current.

However, that's writing effort that will never count for anyone's job.  The people who have the experience to do a great job are already fully booked with their real jobs that pay money or are enjoying other parts of retirement.

Getting something into publishable form is much, much more effort than simply banging out even a lengthy post with respectable research.

[mamselle]

There was a very good article on the forum about 2 years before it was closed.

I'll have to poke around in my files, I think I saved it, or the link to it.

M.

[Langue_doc]

People would not grant permission.  Many people didn't make the transition here because they were done with that period of their lives.  Some long-standing forumites with thousands of posts asked to have those posts deleted instead of archived with the previous fora.  They explicitly cited that they wanted an ephemeral experience and were surprised it had been so long.

As Marshwiggle wrote, certain threads would be worth consolidating and updating to be more current.

However, that's writing effort that will never count for anyone's job.  The people who have the experience to do a great job are already fully booked with their real jobs that pay money or are enjoying other parts of retirement.

Getting something into publishable form is much, much more effort than simply banging out even a lengthy post with respectable research.

I would not grant permission. Publishing the posts would most certainly reveal the identities of several forumites,

[apl68]

People would not grant permission.  Many people didn't make the transition here because they were done with that period of their lives.  Some long-standing forumites with thousands of posts asked to have those posts deleted instead of archived with the previous fora.  They explicitly cited that they wanted an ephemeral experience and were surprised it had been so long.

As Marshwiggle wrote, certain threads would be worth consolidating and updating to be more current.

However, that's writing effort that will never count for anyone's job.  The people who have the experience to do a great job are already fully booked with their real jobs that pay money or are enjoying other parts of retirement.

Getting something into publishable form is much, much more effort than simply banging out even a lengthy post with respectable research.

I would not grant permission. Publishing the posts would most certainly reveal the identities of several forumites,

I wouldn't mind, myself, but then my posts were probably not among the more useful and reprint-worthy.

[ciao_yall]

Here is the article.

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-complainers-online-with-the-chronicle-of-higher-education/

I transitioned from the old board to the new board. A number of fun, interesting, intelligent folks did drop off, while a few whiners and complainers and trolls stayed... so the ratio now isn't as good as it was.

And also, once a story has been told, it didn't always bear repeating so a lot of gems from the "Favorite Student Emails" genre disappeared.

Not sure how new people find us now since we are no longer on the CHE site.

Still, good things about the culture of this board have held. The directness and frankness; the willingness to answer questions; and the lively discussion that threads off initial questions continues.

 

[polly_mer]

Here is the article.

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-complainers-online-with-the-chronicle-of-higher-education/

That article ages worse every time I encounter it.  The wrong points are emphasized and the messages that aspiring academics need to encounter are buried.

[traductio]

Here is the article.

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-complainers-online-with-the-chronicle-of-higher-education/

That article ages worse every time I encounter it.  The wrong points are emphasized and the messages that aspiring academics need to encounter are buried.

Yes, but there are names I do enjoy seeing again -- how is it I miss people I've never even met?

[mamselle]

I felt as though the writer of the article caught the forum at a very high point, before some of the trolling became stifling and like a constant Hardanger.

I thought they did a lot of careful reading of many of my favorite threads and got the tone just right.

Those values may seem declasse at present, but I suspect they'll come around again.

M.

[The Future]

Thank you all for welcoming me with this first post and for responding!  Marshwiggle - I did not realize until you mentioned in your reply to my post that it was announced here in August 2020 that the old site was not going to remain frozen and accessible - such a shame. 
Polly-Mer True about the permission + people being "done with that period of their lives".  Indeed with 10+ years for some, they are in different stages of their personal life and career - even 1 or 2 died, right?  Also correct about labor and $ involved in such a task.
Ciao-Thanks for sharing that - I had not seen that article before now.  And to shed light on "how new people find us":  https://www.chronicle.com/page/chronicle-forums
Polly_Mer - too funny, your reaction to that news article
I started reading the old one around 2015, so a lot of what I was reading had been already years old, but really good insight and exchange of ideas.  Thanks for keeping this going! 

[polly_mer]

Polly_Mer - too funny, your reaction to that news article
I started reading the old one around 2015, so a lot of what I was reading had been already years old, but really good insight and exchange of ideas.  Thanks for keeping this going!

I started reading the fora in 2003 when posts from a thread would be printed in the weekly paper CHE as a way to show discussion on a topic.  I joined in 2007.

That's one reason  I know the shifts in higher ed that have occurred such that much of the detailed older advice is no longer valid, especially related to job searches, acceptable-job-conditions-that-always-surprise-novices, and STFU versus providing a necessary set of new eyes.

Even teaching tips haven't always aged well because they ignore changes in technology and student expectations that are now reasonable, even if they weren't reasonable even ten years ago when newer faculty were in college.

[The Future]

Hey Polly_Mer:
Okay, very good points and explanation of those BUT I still believe that even with some of the outdated or items that did not "age well".  There were many things that I think were very important/meaningful no matter what age (like being an academic and dealing with holiday travel, aging parents, difficult co-workers, etc).  Yes,  the technology and methods have changed a lot in this time 2000-to the present, but I still think to have that whole old Forum intact would be wonderful - agree to disagree - I respect your point of view.  By the way in the last year or so when I was reading so many older posts (5+ years and older), it did not bother me about the timeliness of the responses.  Even with brand new posts, I do not always agree with some.  Since the forum is electronic and was in this electronic storage format it would have even been nice to look at it 20 years from now and see the concern and/or responses to posts.  If one was working at a university 100 or 200 years ago, perhaps they would live on campus, there would be more socials, etc.  That old forum, in my opinion, not only helped so many share and help each other but also captured/gave a snapshot of the communication of that time period.  And everyone can disagree with me and say that it is just dated and perhaps not useful.  I do think there was enough there that was just timeless. 

[marshwiggle]

Since the forum is electronic and was in this electronic storage format it would have even been nice to look at it 20 years from now and see the concern and/or responses to posts.

Ironically, with constant changes to data and storage formats, electronic documents are the most evanescent. A picture from 100 years ago, or a document from 400 years ago are still readable, but there are data formats from 40 years ago that are inaccessible. (Any idea how you'd read a 5 1/4 inch floppy disc?)

[mamselle]

I'd have to fire up my old Compaq, but, yeah.

M.

P.S., Oh, and there are external hard drive readers for both 5" and 3" discs. I have one of each of those, too.