Dear AIR-ers - Ok, jumping in here a bit, BUT, there's a primary need to look at how the family system is impacted by the network effect . . . this simple principle will filter out, I suspect users who stay on the 'net vs. those who don't. Often there would be no reason to stay online if 'significant' others were not online, the old MCI 'Family & Friends' idea - few drop off's or a few add on's for online interaction might determine the staying power of the network in place. 8 seems a bit low, take the possible number of people that would then be online each day/ seven days a week, that's slightly less than one interaction online per day or less than 10 per week. QUESTION: I don't know, that seems a critical point - has anyone looked into the optimal amount of emails/day for users to stay linked into a viable network? My guess is 10-15 messages per day per network is about what I seem to be able to handle - and still feel vitally attached but not overwhelmed . . . Although more active networks (staff emails, AIR) allow me to not feel neglected and therefore tolerate low activity networks (such as the student Forestry list here at SCU, 0-1 posts per week). Denise ===== "Stupidity is not just a lack of content; it's also a process" Denise N. Rall, Sustainable Forestry Mentoring Coordinator & PhD student, School of Education, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480 Australia Phone +61-2-6624-8627 Fax +61-2-6624-8637 Office (Tuesdays) (02) 6620 3577 Mob 0438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/edu/research/deniserall/index.html __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com