Hi folks,
>From a newbie (to asterisk) perspective, I'd like to offer some
advice. Please tolerate us new folks, whether we ask educated or
even ignorant questions. Be gentle and point us in the right
direction; after all, we will learn and will become the next
generation of folks who can answer the easy questions. Someday we
might even answer the hard ones too.
A few observations:
- every list I participate in has similar problems. Even if the
FAQs, archives and docs are rock solid. Newbies need help,
and a users list is a great resource to turn to; particularly
when a google-archive search turns up thousands of hits that
one needs to wade through to find a simple answer.
- I'd suggest keeping business posts here, including commercial
posts. I participate in ecommerce lists (where the nature of
the subject mostly dictates a lot of commercial traffic), and
it works well. Aside from hobbyists, I would believe that many
people who need/want asterisk are SMBs. Embrace this group, it's
a lucrative market. People who sell related products and services
have a vested interest in answering questions; showing one's
expertise builds ones reputation which in the long run turns
into profit to the expert, ie: referrals.
- Keep your list as open (and friendly) as possible; if I had to
answer a quiz (or even be forced to read a FAQ) prior to
posting, I might go elsewhere. (Note: I'm not saying one
*shouldn't* read a FAQ, just don't make it part of your users
list sign-up)
If the goal of the list is to promote asterisk use, then tolerate the
newbie asking a FAQ on the list and gently point him to the FAQ link
rather than flaming them for not reading the FAQ.
Just a few humble opinions from an outsider; I've seen this work
well (not necessarily perfectly) in other places including our own
lists that we host. :)
cheers,
James
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