Still Life with Robin: What Was Good about 2019?

 by Peggy Robin

It’s the first week of December and it’s already started….those end-of-the-year reviews. Best books of 2019. Best movies, TV shows, music. The year in pictures. The year in memes. And not far behind -- the year in CP Listserv highlights. While I do keep a running list all year long of memorable posts, it’s always good to do an “Ask the Audience” for their nominations for the outstanding posts of the year.

In the past, I’ve set out a few fixed categories: “Best Animal Story,” “Most Helpful Advice,” and “Best For-Sale or Giveaway Item”  are a few examples. This year I think I won’t try to push people into these boxes but will leave it open-ended. If there’s anything you think should be on our 2019 Highlights Reel, let me know at moderator @ cleveland-park dot com.

This year we’re tremendously aided by having actual working archives again. You can search through all the messages of 2019 with the simple and effective search tools available at Groups.io. Here’s how to do it: 

1. Start at the homepage,https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark
2. On the left sidebar, click on “Messages”
3. Click on the little gray box labeled “Search” (it's the one with magnifying glass icon).
4. Enter the search word or phrase you want to find. A few search tips: If looking for a phrase of two words or more, put the words inside quotation marks to pull up just those exact words in that order – e.g, “lost cat”. If looking for words or phrases that will be in a message but not necessarily together, enter the words inside quotation marks separated by AND – e.g., "restaurant" AND "quiet". 
5. Use the tools provided to narrow and refine your search. After you’ve searched for a word or phrase, you will see a little gray box labeled “Tools.” Click on it and you will be able to narrow the time-frame of your search to the past hour, day, week, month, year, or between any particular dates you choose. Look to the far right side of your screen and you will see “Relevance” and “Date” to allow you to set the search priority based on how well your search terms can be matched (“relevance”) or bring up the search results from most recent back to oldest, or vice versa. 
6. Avoid using search words that will be likely to show up in thousands of messages. Try to think of a particular name, place, or term that would be in the message you're seeking but is unlikely to be used in other messages, and make that your search term. 

Also, the year is not over till it's over! There are three more weeks to post a message that could be a contender for the Cleveland Park Listrserv Post of the Year!

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.