At 11:03 AM 2/9/03 -0800, Mike Noyes wrote:
On Sun, 2003-02-09 at 10:39, Ray Olszewski wrote:Glad I asked, since my initial reaction was based on an incorrect guess about the source of the concern.
> It would be easier to develop an (informed) opinion on this if we (or at
> least I) knew a bit more about what causes you to bring it up as a concern.
> There is a big difference between "some" users and "many" users, since
> "some" people will be dissatisfied with any approach.
Ray,
One of our project members sent me a message off-list expressing a
concern over leaf-user list volume. I have no idea how many of our users
are affected by the volume on leaf-user. Any enlightenment on this is
appreciated.
Asuming the individual involved is the lead person on a branch, I'd very much recommand providing *that* branch with a separate leaf-something_or_other list and modifying (a) the SR FAQ and (b) that branch's main page within LEAF to refer questions there. More generally, I'd make this decision on a branch-by-branch basis, being guided by the lead developer's preference.
Really, it need not be all or nothing here; "fairness" does not enter into it. A branch-specific list is a benefit to the developer only if he sees it that way; for some, it could be a nuisance. For example, some months ago, questions about a new, small-linux distro started turning up on the linux-newbie list. We regulars there were puzzled at first, until we found out that the distro's creator listed linux-newbie as the place for his users to post their questions. It actually worked pretty well, once we know what was going on. Clearly, *he* didn't want a distro-specific list, and some of our lead developers may feel the same way. But some might want one, so why not accommodate both preferences?
[...]
> One way to cut down list traffic would be to separate the two more cleanly,Does sending them to leaf-user help? At least in my case, their format is so hard for me to read that I don't even look at them on the list, except occasionally on slow days. Do others respond to them by way of leaf-user?
> so that Sourceforge Support messages did not also appear on leaf-user.
> Personally, I'd favor that, if only because the format of these messages
> makes them hard to respond to, even to read, on leaf-user.
I can make this change easily. We made the original change because SF
SRs were not being taken care of in a timely manner.
Is an alternative to disable the SF SR system? (It is even possible? Is it a good idea?) Or at least discourage its use on the LEAF Home Page (I can think offhand of one other project I follow that requests all bug reports go to its mailing list, for example, seemingly because this method is what the developer finds most convenient for him ... the best possible reason for doing it that way, especially as the developer is conscientious about responding to list traffic)?
Other messages in this thread have suggested Web-based forums and the like. Personally, I am not enthusiastic. The virtue of e-mail-based mailing lists (for me) is that the traffic comes here for me to look at whenever I have a moment and the inclination. My replies go out promptly and easily (at least from my perspective ... the communicating MTAs handle any delays in ways invisible to me).
A Web site is something I have to connect to separately ... at my convenience, yes, but the extra effort to do something outside my normal routine would make me less likely to remember. (There are some writers with Web sites I like, but I only remember to connect to them once a month or less.) It forces me to confront the performance limits of Sourceforge much more directly than I do with e-mail traffic.
With any approach, its value to ordinary users -- the people who ask questions -- is that they get prompt, accurate, and helpful answers. The convenience of the mechanism to *them* is secondary to its being convenient for the people who give the answers. I suspect we would find a Web forum disappointing, for much the same reasons that the SF SR mechanism failed to deliver timely responses.
--
-------------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"--------
Ray Olszewski -- Han Solo
Palo Alto, California, USA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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