Opera-L and Wikipedia

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Opera-L and Wikipedia
Authors
Robert Kosovsky
Publication date
2014
Links
Original

Opera-L and Wikipedia - scientific work related to Wikipedia quality published in 2014, written by Robert Kosovsky.

Overview

Opera-L Opera-L, an email distribution list, (2) was founded on August 21, 1990 by Demi Getschko, a technologist with the Sao Paulo Research Foundation in Brazil. It was set up on that organization's BITNET server. (3) In 1990 there were no commercial providers connected to the Internet, so early subscribers were those involved with either academia or technology, or were government employees. Another characteristic of BITNET use in 1990 was that one's email address always revealed one's affiliation, so anonymity was not possible. The early years of Opera-L set the pattern for the list: people would exchange messages about opera and singers and report on or review local performances. Because of the infrastructure in Sao Paulo, messages were not archived. Once BITNET connected with the Internet, subscribers from commercial providers, many of them anonymous--to the discontent of many existing subscribers--could join. With approximately 150 subscribers, Opera-L continued as a small, sometimes fractious, but relatively cohesive group. That changed when the existence of Opera-L began to receive publicity in late 1994. The resulting flood of new subscribers overloaded the server in Sao Paulo, forcing the list to abandon its host institution. For about two months, Opera-L was an orphan where members were simply copying huge lists of email addresses to stay in contact. Through my association with the City University of New York (CUNY), where Author was a graduate student, Author was able to get that institution to host the email list with the condition that Author take over running it. Opera-L opened at its new home in March 1995 with its archive starting in April 1995. The new home came with many changes. Now using Listserv software, all messages generated by the list were archived and would be available for anyone to see on the Internet. This greater exposure lead to a steady stream of new subscribers wanting to investigate what the list was about. The number of daily messages increased dramatically. While the list was hosted in Brazil, there were, perhaps, a maximum of 40 messages per day. At its new home, Opera-L began generating 100 messages a day, causing CUNY to impose a limit of 80 messages a day, with a daily limit of two messages per subscriber--a difficult imposition during the active part of the opera season. By the year 2000, there were over 2,000 subscribers to Opera-L. CUNY continued to host the list until 2007 when a reprioritization of the school's plans forced the list to move elsewhere. One long-term subscriber, Robert White, Executive Director of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS), located in Hackensack, New Jersey, graciously and generously stepped forward. With his board's backing, the list has been hosted by BCCLS since 2007, with a promise that it will continue should White retire. Nearly all policies that had been previously set up have been maintained at the list's new home. Author am still functioning as the list owner with help from two volunteers as well as from Robert and the network administrator of BCCLS. Subscribers have included a few famous opera singers (who rarely posted but apparently read messages), budding opera directors (including one who now is employed by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), and others involved with actual opera production. But the majority of Opera-L subscribers have always been simply fans of opera. Their strength is reflected in the interesting multiple and contrasting reviews of the same performance, or a heated exchange devoted to refining an idea or belief. Writing about opera appears to encourage some authors to allow their messages to take on operatic histrionics. Among the more memorable postings have been detailed personal recollections of baritone Leonard Warren's on-stage death at the Metropolitan Opera, which had occurred 1 March 1960 during a performance of La forza del destino, and the burning of La Fenice, as witnessed by a subscriber who could view the fire from his home. …

Embed

Wikipedia Quality

Kosovsky, Robert. (2014). "[[Opera-L and Wikipedia]]". International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres.

English Wikipedia

{{cite journal |last1=Kosovsky |first1=Robert |title=Opera-L and Wikipedia |date=2014 |url=https://wikipediaquality.com/wiki/Opera-L_and_Wikipedia |journal=International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres}}

HTML

Kosovsky, Robert. (2014). &quot;<a href="https://wikipediaquality.com/wiki/Opera-L_and_Wikipedia">Opera-L and Wikipedia</a>&quot;. International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres.