Hi,

now that the rename of "SUSE Linux" into "openSUSE" is taking place with
the release of alpha 3 I think it is time to also adjust our mailing
list layout. I would like to propose the following changes:

1. Generic user support + catch-all list

[email protected] (changed list description)

The last year has shown that [email protected] is the first list
users subscribe to if they have questions about the distribution, or are
looking for user-level support. The original idea was that these
questions would be handled by the established suse-linux lists. This did
not work well for several reasons and led to many high-volume
discussions about the list itself and the naming scheme.

I assume we're all tired of these discussions. I think we can use the
natural tendency of new users to subscribe to this list by making it
exactly the list new users need: 

- user questions and support of all levels
- generic questions about the distribution and the project
- discussions about specific topics for which other lists exist can
  still _politely_ be sent there (e.g. -wiki, -buildservice)

2. Project / community related discussion

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (new)

This list would be for people who want to take a more active role 
in the openSUSE project as a whole. Possible topics for this list could
include, but wouldn't be restricted to:

- organisation of Linux events where openSUSE as a project is present
  (FOSDEM 2007, LinuxTag 2007...)
- new subprojects
- requests for new mailing lists (as a result of a successful subproject
  start ;-))
- activities to promote openSUSE and/or attract more developers (e.g. 
  Google Summer of Code)

3. Discussion of various other topics as needed

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (unchanged)
[email protected] (unchanged)
[email protected] (unchanged)
[email protected] (unchanged)
[email protected] (unchanged)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (unchanged)
[email protected] (unchanged)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (unchanged)

These are mostly self-explanatory and will not be changed in any way.

There is a slight overlap between opensuse and opensuse-factory if
people use the development snapshots of the distribution, but this
hasn't been a problem so far. 

4. Read-only lists

[email protected] (unchanged)

Low volume, for those who just want the news, not the chatter.

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (unchanged)

High-volume, shows the changelog of every package submitted to factory

5. Foreign language lists

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (unchanged)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (unchanged)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (unchanged)

If a group of speakers of any given language want opensuse mailing lists
in that language, we will always start with
opensuse-<languagecode>@opensuse.org, and this will be a catch-all list
for all topics mentioned in section 1. to 3.

If this list gets enough traffic to justify a split into several lists,
they will follow the layout in section 2. and 3. but add a language
code. Examples would be:

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (non-existent example)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (non-existant-example)

6. Existing SUSE Linux lists

With the renaming of the distribution, the mailing list names used on
lists.suse.com will eventually be outdated. We consider merging some of
these lists with their openSUSE counterparts. Obvious candidates are
e.g.:

[email protected]     -> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[email protected]   -> [email protected]

As the suse linux lists are long-existing, active communities, this step
will not happen without a discussion on the affected lists.

7. IRC channels

IRC channels on freenode should follow the same layout as the mailing
lists, if a mailing list for the respective topic exists. Right now the
following active channels exist:

  #opensuse
  #opensuse-de
  #opensuse-devel
  #openSUSE-GNOME
  #opensuse-project
  #opensuse-factory
  #opensuse-buildservice

Of these I think #opensuse-devel is unnecessary and should be merged
with #opensuse-factory, but I might have overlooked something. Could
those active on #opensuse-devel please speak up? ;-)

Discuss...

cheers,
Sonja

-- 
Sonja Krause-Harder ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Research & Development                           SUSE Linux Products GmbH


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