Hello, The last time this was brought up, it was met with an overwhelming response in favor of keeping the mailing list. This time around, the majority of responses seem to be from people who really want to keep this a mailing list, and those who would be willing to try a forum but would still prefer a mailing list. The common element here (as I see it) is that most people seem to prefer the mailing list format.
Personally, I much prefer mailing lists to forums any day, for pretty much any topic. Forums are generally full of dead-end threads, stupid "bump" posts, and misinformation posted by random people. I work at a college, and I have discovered that about 99% of the students I encounter have no idea how to use a mailing list, and would never even try it unless they were compelled to for some reason. Forums, on the other hand, can be (and usually are) used by just about anyone. It is my firm belief that keeping this as a mailing list dramatically cuts down on the number of people posting, and increases the quality and topical knowledge of those who do post, compared to what we would get in a forum. A forum would end up having every idiot script kiddy posting in it, and we would probably see a crazy increase in the number of off-topic posts and the sometimes not-so-polite pointings to other places for the information. Basically, mailing lists *generally* tend to be used by a more mature class of people, and by people who are seriously interested in the topic of the list. Forums, even moderated ones, tend to be used by anyone who had a few spare minutes and felt like signing up. So... please keep this a list! - Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: Fletcher Dunn <fletch...@valvesoftware.com> Date: Monday, October 24, 2011 8:34 pm Subject: [hlds_linux] Forum vs. email list To: Half-Life dedicated Linux server mailing list <hlds_linux@list.valvesoftware.com>, "h...@list.valvesoftware.com" <h...@list.valvesoftware.com> > >I am honestly astounded by the amount of people who complain when > >people ask for help on help forums or mailing lists. Not everyone > >signs up and instantly reads everything, goes through all the > >archives, or spends hours researching. > > I'd like to use this comment as a springboard for a discussion > about the format of this list. > > I hear that a few years ago the idea of migrating the email list > to a forum was kicked around. However, at the time (is > this still true today?) the users of the list didn't like the > idea. it is my understanding that most server admins prefer: > > 1.) Receiving push notifications. > 2.) Viewing the list in their email client > > #1 seems like a really compelling advantage (especially for > announcements), while #2 seems like a personal preference, and > many people have the opposite preference. > > A forum has several compelling advantages: > > 1.) Easier to search and find answers to previously asked questions > 2.) Easier to follow a thread of conversation. (I > personally find any email distribution list to become unreadable > pretty much instantly, with all the >>>>'s and broken line > breaks that everybody's mail clients and put everywhere.) > 3.) Easier to modify your post if you notice a mistake or want > to clarify something, rather than making a new post. > 4.) Easier to delete or move posts if they are spam, rude, > inappropriate, belong in the general TF2 SPUF forum, etc. > 5.) Easier to ignore an entire thread that you are not > interested in. > > Could there be some sort of forum + push notification that would > satisfy what everybody wants? This list exists to serve > you guys, so I'm curious what everything thinks. I > *believe* most of the guys would find a forum format (perhaps > with some push notification) more convenient. > > It would be good to get some opinions about how people prefer to > consume the information on this list. > > Please chime in. > > Your humble servant, > - Fletch > > _______________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list > archives, please visit: > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds_linux _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds_linux
