On Feb 7, 2007, at 9:27 AM, John Balestrieri wrote:
I'm disappointed at how such a sweeping decision about the
'community' was not made with the knowledge or consensus of the
'community.' -- and now this community is talking about moving to
alternative lists.
To the Community: REAL has a point about consolidation; by taking
the list elsewhere I think you're diluting yourselves. I think the
lists are a great supplement to the documentation -- better than a
wiki, even. Sure, it's great to get it by email, but another great
strength is the centralized quality of it: there are mirrors and
archives of the lists, and if you're looking for info, that's a
good place to start. By starting your own lists, you're causing
more redundancy than what prompted REAL to want to drop the lists
in the first place.
First, the assumption is that redundancy is a Bad Thing. Having two
or more places to find information, in my opinion, is never a Bad Thing.
Second, the assumption is that redundancy exists. It's been my
experience that the forums are beginner-oriented and more Windows
friendly. Whereas the mailing lists contain more technical
information and are often more Mac friendly (which is good for me as
I develop on the Mac OS).
Again, in my experience, the mailing lists and forums are two
different worlds. The mailing lists are populated by people I
consider real experts on REALbasic. The forums aren't (except for
Aaron Ballman who I consider a vast resource on Windows programming
in RB and Mike Bailey who's a great help on all things database).
In the forums, offer a suggestion or helpful criticism and you get
childish side-taking and name calling. More than once I've seen an
RS employee resort to, "if you don't like it, write your own compiler."
In the mailing lists, suggestion and criticism are met with
thoughtful discussion of pros and cons.
If you'd like an example -- read the posts on the mailing lists
explaining why and how forums and mailing lists function
differently. Then read the topic "Closing the mailing lists" in Off
Topic on the forums. Here you'll see some mailing list folk trying
to make their point. Now read the forum's populace responses.
Mostly things like "grow up" "stop whining" and "cry babies" no real
discussion of how the two technologies differ or how to improve them.
I have been a lurker in both forums and mailing lists for years.
I've learned a lot. Sadly when I've had something to contribute,
someone usually beats me to it, usually saying it better than I
could. So I've left my bit unsaid. I will be starting my first
truly large project soon. I hope to be able to turn to the lists and
forums for help. And hopefully, as I learn more, I'll be able to
contribute more.
I'll use both the forums and lists as I need. But I much prefer the
lists -- for all the technical reasons so many have mentioned, but
also because I prefer the community on the lists to that of the forums.
Kirk Gray
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