Wow, a long thread, eh? And worthwhile, I think. I'd like to note the following. The discussion is significantly biased towards technical issues, which is natural given the nature of the list and the interests of its population. However, there were a few emails that touched on a broader question of whether or not it will be beneficial to switch to Hebrew in a more broad sense.
Let me try to summarize the expressed attitudes briefly. * There were no postings from people who do not know Hebrew. I think there used to be quite a few. Have all of them left the list recently for political or other irrelevant reasons? I hope not. I hope they just stay silent on the grounds that "this is an Israeli list and I cannot influence this any more than I can influence the Swedish LUG". It is certain though that those who are still subscribed find the list useful (those who don' have unsubscribed by now), and if a significant fraction of traffic is in Hebrew they will suffer. I got a feeling that quite a few Hebrew speakers feel that Hebrew will make the list and its archives less useful as a resource. Btw, is there a problem with searching the archives if they are in Hebrew? All of the above is a concern. * There is a small minority who say, in effect, "I want it in English, and that's it. You want Hebrew, I won't talk to you." While respected, I hope, this attitude does not seem productive. * There is a small (but larger) group of people who promote Hebrew on linux-il on the patriotic grounds that "Swedes do it, Finns do it". * A significant number of people (I am not sure if it is a majority, but it seems so) think that the technical nature of the list favors English over Hebrew. Creating a second list will split the discussion. * The majority seem to think that while they wouldn't mind seeing Hebrew postings, they would prefer English. Whether or not Hebrew postings are worth the current hassle of setting one's MUA/editor properly seems to depend mainly on one's habits and toolbox. There is quite a bit of resistance over this point. * There seems to be a consensus that technically we are not there yet, especially where writing Hebrew is concerned. This is where I think the most important point is. * It seems there is an effort to create linux-heb, but I have a suspicion that those of us who consider teaching their computers Hebrew a hassle will opt out, which is a pity because that's the population of potential early adopters. Also note the unfortunate consequence of splitting the list (mentioned above). Is that a fair summary? If it is, my personal conclusion from the above is that eventually we should allow posting in Hebrew on Linux-IL, but first there is quite a bit of work to do to make it (relatively) painless. I think that linux-heb should have the status of a pilot and should disappear eventually. I would also like to propose a rule according to which no English question should be replied to in Hebrew. -- Oleg Goldshmidt | [EMAIL PROTECTED] "We work by wit, and not by witchcraft, And wit depends on dilatory time..." ================================================================= To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word "unsubscribe" in the message body, e.g., run the command echo unsubscribe | mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
