At one time, reading email meant taking time to sit down at a huge computer with a fairly small screen.  Then it meant sitting down and opening a laptop and reading off a large, clear screen with adjustable windows or a desktop with a large monitor.  Netbooks followed, still with decent-sized screens and then tablets -- ditto.  Up to that point, reading email took a conscious decision to do so and preparation.   

Along the way, though, cell phones developed the abilty to receive, display and send email. The adoption of phones for email was slow, but has gathered momentum to the point where it is now quite common.  To read email on a phone requires no prep, no sitting down, and often no concentration of thought.

Personally, I use a tab and/or a phone to moderate the list when out and about.  

That allows for instant approvals. However, I am accutely aware that, although I can detect SPAM, trolls, flames and other mischief 9and that is pretty well all we moderate for) on the small screen I realise that I cannot really comprehend content longer or more complex than a Tweet on a phone without a lot of care and strain.  

I don't even try.  I leave my replies longer than a few words for when I am sitting in front of a larger screen and can read the original more carefully, can consider my response, and can check back over any history and details that are hazy.

I suspect, though, that lately many on BEE-L are relying on phones and shooting from the hip.  I have noticed that the level of reading comprehension on the list (which was never too good to begin with) has declined precipitously.  Recent exchanges clearly demonstrate that members don't understand or remember what they have recently read.

I hope this trend is self-correcting.  In the meantime misunderstandings injected into discussions make replies difficult and circular.  We have some good topics under discussion, but they deal with complex topics and quick, distracted replies based on misunderstanding previously stated facts only muddy the water.  

BEE-L protocol discourages including extended histories in replies to prevent clutter.  The assumption is that participating members read every message in a thread before replying and will take the time to check back in their message store for details, or consult BEE-L.org archives and current logs of the relevant thread when memory fails.

I am at a point in some discusssions where I can't continue because of the time it would take to restate what I already wrote clearly.  I'm sure others are in the same boat. 

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