Hi Doug, First, Before beginning exposing my opinion, I want to state that the arslist is the most value Remedy resource for me at this time. Also, that the next is only my opinion and a constructive critic. I'm new to this community and I will try to do my best to follow the rules.
Said this, I think that maybe Arslist is not on the best communication format available for sharing the knowledge. A community of 50 or 100 experts can be hold as an email group, but when the numbers go higher I think that web-based forums fit better for the purpose. Arslist is based on mail, and people apply on ARS list what they normally apply for the email. Than means the use of sophisticated signatures and include the complete reply of the previous email. You can teach people to not to do it, but it will last for a few days. This especially applies when people share their normal email account in ARSlist. I allways try to delete my corporate signature by my name and the address of my blog. But, sometimes I forget to do it, and the signature is sent. I will try to not to send it, but I surely know that sometimes I will forget and I will send it. About not including the reply: modern email software (Thunderbird, outlook, main web based like gmail, ...) organizes the emails in conversations, hiding the replied content. If you erase the copy of the original message, these software tend to fail identifying the conversation, disorganizing the mails. For me this is the highest SNR possible, since all conversations are messed. I know that this is a high load for ARSlist servers. Again it is difficult to train ARSlist users to not to do it, since they will have their email clients programmed to include the reply, because it is expected normally at e-mailing. Also, the use of formatted HTML text had became the standard nowadays. I can't change the configuration of my email client for each email. And this will surely apply for the most of the users. As I see the problem, the standard use of the e-mail is not well suited for the ARSlist, so I consider a mistake to use e-mail as the communication interface. Maybe it's time to consider moving to an independent forum. Also called ARSlist and managed by the same people who is managing ARSlist. The advantages of a forum are countless. Starting from the ability to moderate the conversations, create sticky content and organize the conversations in themes. Someone can tell: "You are describing the BMC communities, ARSlist is different." No, ARSlist isn't about the communication interface, but about it's independence and people conforming it. Why do I have a independent blog when I can create it on BMC communities? Because I maintain myself independent and free. Again, please I try to help with my comment. I say it with my best intention, and I'm not trying to feed the troll. Don't matter the format ARSlist uses, I will continue to read it. Regards, Jose Huerta theremedyforit.com _______________________________________________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at www.arslist.org attend wwrug12 www.wwrug12.com ARSList: "Where the Answers Are"
