Academic listservs are the antidote to Twitter and other poisons | Times Higher Education (THE)

Unlike most of my colleagues, I’ve never succumbed to the temptation of “academic Twitter”. While not entirely without merit, much of it is dedicated to shameless self-promotion, clever puns, petty complaints and targeted advertisements. Fortunately, there is still an alternative – the academic listserv. Academic listservs – electronic mailing lists – originated in France in the mid-1980s and quickly became a popular way for individuals with common interests, both in and outside academe, to share information and ideas. Surprisingly, a few remain active even now. These include the SHARP-L (formally known as the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing listserv), which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in March. Admittedly, I’ve been on and off (but mostly on) the SHARP L since the 1990s. Like the internet back in 1992, its aesthetics are sparse; it is a purely text-based space. More importantly, since it has always existed on the outer margins of the capitalist-driven online economy, its ethics are similarly uncomplicated. No one is selling anything – except the occasional Rare Book School workshop. It seems only to accommodate the circulation of information that would be difficult, if not impossible, to put back into circulation as income-generating content.…
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