This list generates too little mail
Lists go through cycles. Sometimes, a list will generate 100 posts a day. Other times, the list may generate only a few per day. At those latter times, it is like a crowded dance floor where the girls are huddled against one side, and the boys huddled against the other, and the middle of the dance floor is empty because no one dares to make the first move.

A mailing list will become whatever you make of it

One of my favorite analogies is that a mailing list is like a potluck picnic. If everyone contributes, everyone is fed. If no one contributes, no one is fed. And that means it is up to each person to give of themselves, to share their thoughts on the list.

Typically, only about 20% of a list posts, the other 80% lurks

If you are a lurker, someone who reads but never writes, it is hard to understand your complaint that others are lurking too. One must become part of the solution, by deciding to step forward, cross that divide, and ask someone to dance. This can take a lot of courage, but Ghandi said that one must become the change one wishes to see in the world. It is very fortunate that mailing lists are especially susceptible to this kind of influence by any member.

So you take that step, you start writing into the list. You pour your heart out, and the next day you check your mail to see who has appreciated the greatness of your writings. And it turns out that no one has even replied to you.

You may find that the writing itself becomes a pleasure. I have been surprised when the exact thing happened to me, no one replied, yet later when we met in person several people came up to me to tell me how much the article had affected them.

You can't always tell when you have a fan club

The best way to resolve this problem is to become a part of the solution by writing your thoughts into the list, without caring whether anyone replies. Usually, you will soon hit a nerve, trigger a memory, evoke a tale which someone else will then also contribute to the list. And the conversation is up and running.