[blparent] Moving On and Introduction

[Erin Rumer]

Welcome Steve and thank you for such a great introduction.  My husband used
to work in a 3M factory back in college over the summers so we are familiar
with the company quite well.  To this day I am still in love with one of
their kitchen sponges called Dobie's. SMILING

We look forward to getting to know you more on this list.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2012 6:45 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: [blparent] Moving On and Introduction

Hi Everyone,

First, I want to thank Debbie for all of her work over the years moderating
this important list.  It is good to know that she will still be here.

I have been slow to write because my state affilliate, the NFB of Minnesota,
has a one-day spring convention this weekend.  Also, many of you already
know me here as I've been on this list since it was started, but here is a
little information about me as well as some thoughts on this list.  Besides
the fact that I think all of our lists are important and am therefore on
many of them, I was drawn to this list because my wife and I have two
adopted daughters who are now completing their journey to adulthood.  One is
legally blind while the other has significant vision loss so I've been very
involved on the Blind Kid list as well.  
Since she and I are both blind, this list has often helped us find
alternatives that have permitted us to be better parents.  In addition, I
very much hope that the experiences I have had, both good and bad, can help
others on this list.  

Besides being a parent, which is more than a fulltime job by itself, I am a
computer analyst at 3M Company, the makers of Scotch Tape and Post-its among
many, many other products.  My work now centers around data quality, but for
most of my more than 35 years there I was a Programmer-analyst.  As a kid, I
was one of those strange kids who liked math, and as a result I majored in
math in college.  In the 1970's, this path was a good one to follow to get
into work with computers.  I am a dedicated braille user, and feel braille
has been instrumental in performing my job successfully.

I'd like to make a few comments about this list and list moderation.  This
list has a purpose as you already know, to be a resource for blind parents.
I subscribe to the approaches already expressed by Dave Andrews and Deborah
Kent Stein.  As I understand it, they both believe that one cannot always
tell what is going to be on topic when a topic is first raised.  There has
to be some tolerance to see where a given topic will go.  In addition, I
recognize that any list, especially this one, is also a community.  As a
community, there is going to be some interactions among the list members
that supports our community. 

On the other hand, I very much need your help and cooperation.  If a list
gets too busy with traffic that is only loosely related to its purpose, it
can discourage persons who really need our help or who can be a big helpe to
us.  Some topics that might relate to being a blind parent may well be
better for other lists because the real expertise that is needed isn't that
of being a parent.  For example, if you need to help your child do some
research on the internet, something that most of us have had to do as a
parent, it probably is on topic here to some degree, but the real expertise
that is needed is not one of parenting but of computer access.  You will
likely find more answers on GUI-Talk, for example.  

Finally, the only judge of whether a moderator is a good one is whether a
list serves its purpose.  Therefore, I hope we can keep debates about list
moderation off the list.  If you think I should do something differently,
please write to me directly.  I pledge to you that I will listen, and will
either take your advice or try to explain why I did what I did.  I know I
will make mistakes along the way, but if you keep everything written here in
mind when you post, we will continue to have a successful list.

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson







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