p. 13

Overall much of the literature regarding electronic mailing lists has been either speculative or anecdotal in nature. In addition, as will be noted later, there has been a tencency to be overly optimistic in reporting the benefits of computer mediated communication. This lack of inquiry into the evolution of electronic mailing lists has left a crticial gap in the social history of academic culture.

pp. 8-9 Important statement of potentially radical questions

Today;s scholars are no longer limited to print and conferences if they want to share their work with others. Electronic media liberate text from the technological limitations of paper and the costs of travel. By using computer mediated communication, scholars can communicate with their peers as they never could before. While this is an exciting time, the implications for scholarly communication, the evolition of the knowledge base, and learning behaviors and not yet known. It is important to questions how truly transforming or revliation the impact of computer mediarted communication was for scholarlship as it was beginning to rake root in the academic communitiy. The electronic mailing lists provided the first insight to how a worldwide communication forum could work... Will scholars merely view electronic mailing lists as a more speedy and cost-effective means to distribute information (such as calls for papers) that was traditionally disseminated in print? Or will electronic mailing lists and other forms of computer mediated communication ultimately transform scholarly behavior? Will the need to attend professional conferences cease because the same exchanges can be done via computer?

p. 5

The origin of many of our big questions in Schol Comm (peer review, etc.) can be found in lists:

The origins of these questions began with the early electronic mailing lists.

p. 3

the electronic mailing lists I studied formed the basis of new ideas for the future of scholarly communication.

p. 1 Epigraph

I think that we are in the nascent stages of this. I think that this could be an extraordinarily effective tool for scholarly interchange around the world, as well as personal interchange. We have not yet figured out how to make it work the best possible way. What we are seeing on these discussions lists of [sic][sic] whatever that are, is a kind of groping through the dark to figure out what works and what doesn't work. I just see it in those lights and so I don't get upset about some things that go on. It will all work out one way or another." (history, Professor)

Abstract

The dissertation also considers the implications for higher education and the extent to which electronic mailing lists may change scholarly behaviors.