I've cross-posted this to HOCKEY as well if we want to move this thread over
there.  (If you thought Hockey-L was slow... :)
 
I believe there are four clear reasons why Hockey-L is slowing down:
 
1) USA Today's Web Site
2) US College Hockey's Web Site
3) Mercury News
4) Mike Machnik
 
I was amazed at the start of this season with the lack of posts to the lists.
I honestly checked over a dozen times to see if our server or net connection
was down -- it's just not the same Hockey-L.
 
After reading Deron's post, I gave it some thought and came up with the four
reasons above.  For as long as I can remember most of us have been clamoring
for more national and mainstream coverage.  Now we have it.  USA Today and US
College Hockey online are fantastic sources of information -- sources like we
haven't had in the past.  Hockey-L used to be "it", but Mike and I recently
discussed that College Hockey is now showing up in sports tickers and the
morning news.  If the information is out there and on the web, people don't
need Hockey-L like they did in the past.
 
Mercury News is filling the gap for those people who don't want to launch a
web browser or sift through the discussion and/or boxes.  They send succint
and customizable info via e-mail -- something else that you could only get on
Hockey-L.
 
And not to diminish the job that Deron or Bill are doing, but I personally
miss Mike and what he brought to the list.  Often times Hockey-L was the "Mike
Machnik Show" and I think people miss his voluminous posts on the Warriors and
Heather.  (Mike types what, 1000 words per minute? :)  This isn't to say that
either Deron or Bill are "failing", but Mike often sparked the conversations
on the list.  I also don't want Mike to feel guilty or responsible in the
decline of Hockey-L because he shouldn't.
 
Hockey-L still serves a very useful and necessary purpose.  We remain THE on-
line college hockey community and have a list here like no other I've seen on
the net.  We're a tight-knit, rarely impolite and knowledgable group.  The
fact that we are civil to each other still amazes me (even though I'm one of
those guys that picks on Deron off line ;).  I think the numbers will decline
because of the new information sources, but Hockey-L will survive.  After all
the game isn't the final score, it's the people and the discussions that
really make our game special.  You're not going to get that off a web page.
 
H
 
 
 
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