Brandorr wrote: >>> I think that I partly disagree with that. Project proposals go in >>> requisite community groups. >> And if there isn't one, or people don't know which one is appropriate? > > Fair enough, but I still think no matter what we do, Newbies will > continue to post to osol-discuss. RTFM, is only a partial solution, as > in today's world, how many people go to the manual when they install > Microsoft Windows? Until the OpenSolaris installation process is as > smooth, or smoother than installing MS-Windows, we are going to have > to accept that there will be many people asking questions.
I don't remember claiming this was going to fix all the problems the OpenSolaris community has - or are you merely suggesting I am wasting my time? >> You obviously misread what I wrote. Nobody is talking about 'blowing >> off people'. > > I am talking specifically about observed behavior. I have seen many of > the "helpful' posts that basically say, "Wrong place, go post on > comp.unix.solaris" And what exactly has that got to do with the improvements I've made? >> I have *no* idea why you think Solaris is for the elite, I certainly don't. > > I have a strong sense, that many people feel that OpenSolaris.org is > for developers not users. Personally, I don't think the newbie > questions are the main reason people unsubscribe. I think it is the > unfettered fray of an unmoderated list, that is getting on peoples > nerves... (To me the most annoying things on -discuss aren't newbie > questions, but I stay subscribed, partly because of the newbie > questions, and partly because I have an email client that can show a > list of threads.) ;) Perhaps threads like this, where attempts at positive contributions are met with griping and moaning don't help either. > Actually the saying is "Stop complaining and start proposing solutions." > > This person would be a member of the community, just like any other > Sun employee that posts here. I've already said there is no budget for this - or are you personally going to pay their salary? And if/when I *do* get resources, there are *far* more pressing things for them to do than act as a helpdesk. > In my experience dedicating a single person, and no more, is very > helpful for this purpose, and while he/she may not be able to answer > all the questions, they can shield the devs and workers from all but > the most esoteric questions. In addition they will know where to > direct someone to get the correct answers, if the question is over > their head. (I say no more than one, because the biggest benefit is to > be gained by that first person, and costs are contained. In addition, > as the community grows, more community members will step up to the > plate.) > > This person could also be the primary maintainer of the FAQ. > (Searching through old threads looking for useful entries.) > > I guess you could call this person the "Newbie/User Relations Czar" You can call them whatever you like, because they aren't going to exist. This is clearly an area where the community should take responsibility for solving the problem. As I said, it's about time the community stopped expecting to be spoon-fed at every turn, and started taking responsibility for solving some of the issues. -- Alan Burlison --
