I don't think splitting the list is a good idea, neither according to the level of questions (which will "kill" the "beginners list"), nor according to geographic boundaries.
I totally agree with Heinz Tuechler's position : a (short) code on the sublect of the e-mail seems a good ideau if people feel necessary to organize more this list. Florence. On 1/5/06, Heinz Tuechler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > At 11:56 05.01.2006 +1100, John Maindonald wrote: > >I've changed the heading because this really is another thread. I > >think it inevitable that there will, in the course of time, be other > >lists that are devoted, in some shape or form, to the concerns of > >practitioners (at all levels) who are using R. One development I'd > >not like to see is fracture along application area lines, allowing > >those who are comfortable in coteries whose focus was somewhat > >relevant to standards of use of statistics in that area 15 or 20 > >years ago to continue that way. One of the great things about R, in > >its development to date, has been its role in exposing people from a > >variety of application area communities to statistical traditions > >different from that in which they have been nurtured. I expect it to > >have a continuing role in raising statistical analysis standards, in > >"raising the bar". > > > >Another possibility is fracture along geographic boundaries. This > >has both benefits (one being that its is easier within a smaller > >circle of people who are more likely to know each other for > >contributors to establish a rapport that will make the list really > >effective; also there will be notices and discussion that are of > >local interest) and drawbacks (it risks separating subscribers off > >from important discussions on the official R lists.) On balance, > >this may be the better way to go. Indeed subscribers to ANZSTAT > >(Australian and NZ statistical list) will know that an R-downunder > >list, hosted at Auckland, is currently in test-drive mode. There > >should be enough subscribers in common between this and the official > >R lists that the south-eastern portion of Gondwana does not, at any > >time in the very near future, float off totally on its own. > > > >There are of course other possibilities, and it may be useful to > >canvass them. > > > > Repeating a comment under the subject "Splitting the list": > I would considere to use flags at the beginning of the subject line, like > e.g. "BQ" for basic question. Of course, also geographic boundaries could > be considered. > This flags should be defined in the posting guide. > This way, every reader/expert can decide on a personal level to split the > list by filtering the messages accordingly. > > Heinz Tuechler > > >John Maindonald email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >phone : +61 2 (6125)3473 fax : +61 2(6125)5549 > >Mathematical Sciences Institute, Room 1194, > >John Dedman Mathematical Sciences Building (Building 27) > >Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200. > > > > > > > >On 4 Jan 2006, at 10:00 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > >> From: Ben Fairbank <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> Date: 4 January 2006 4:42:31 AM > >> To: R-help@stat.math.ethz.ch > >> Subject: Re: [R] A comment about R: > >> > >> > >> One implicit point in Kjetil's message is the difficulty of learning > >> enough of R to make its use a natural and desired "first choice > >> alternative," which I see as the point at which real progress and > >> learning commence with any new language. I agree that the long > >> learning > >> curve is a serious problem, and in the past I have discussed, off > >> list, > >> with one of the very senior contributors to this list the > >> possibility of > >> splitting the list into sections for newcomers and for advanced users. > >> He gave some very cogent reasons for not splitting, such as the > >> possibility of newcomers' getting bad advice from others only slightly > >> more advanced than themselves. And yet I suspect that a newcomers' > >> section would encourage the kind of mutually helpful collegiality > >> among > >> newcomers that now characterizes the exchanges of the more experienced > >> users on this list. I know that I have occasionally been reluctant to > >> post issues that seem too elementary or trivial to vex the others > >> on the > >> list with and so have stumbled around for an hour or so seeking the > >> solution to a simple problem. Had I the counsel of others similarly > >> situated progress might have been far faster. Have other newcomers or > >> occasional users had the same experience? > >> > >> Is it time to reconsider splitting this list into two sections? > >> Certainly the volume of traffic could justify it. > >> > >> Ben Fairbank > > > > > > > > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] > > > >______________________________________________ > >R-help@stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list > >https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > >PLEASE do read the posting guide! > http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > > > > > > ______________________________________________ > R-help@stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > PLEASE do read the posting guide! > http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] ______________________________________________ R-help@stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide! http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
