[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       opensuse
Subject:    Re: [opensuse] Re: Do we need an official web forum?
From:       Daniel Bauer <linux () daniel-bauer ! com>
Date:       2006-01-26 8:55:18
Message-ID: 200601260955.18416.linux () daniel-bauer ! com
[Download RAW message or body]

Am Donnerstag, 26. Januar 2006 08:21 schrieb Silviu Marin-Caea:

> Because the support-type questions have moved to suse-linux-e.  They
> were being asked on opensuse@ because of a less clear definition of the
> mailing list purpose.

For me - as a "just-user" - the clear definitions of mailing list purposes are 
not really so very clear. I guess for non-experts like me it's very easy to 
look at a forum and see what is going on there, what topics they discuss, to 
search if my problem was already asked etc., but how do I find out, which 
mailing list is the right one for me?

Just an example: when I couldn't install the new OpenSuse I read the 
opensuse.org page "communicate" and thought, this list would be the right one 
for my problems. I joined it, asked my question and found help within less 
than 24 hours, which was a great experience after asking and looking around 
ineffective in several forums. But when reading the mails here I receive the 
impression, that I should rather have asked in suse-linux-e - although nobody 
was complaining about my question here :-)

It seems to me kind of a problem that you can find some help in forums and 
some other help in a mailing list, but its all mixed up and nobody (except 
you, of course ;-) ) knows where to find what. You get newbie-questions in a 
mailing list, which would better be placed (and solved) in one of the 
existing forums, and you see very sophisticated special problems in a 
"low-level-like-me-forum" which remain unanswered, of course.

For non-experts mailing lists also have the drawback of big time consuming 
traffic, many mails you simply don't understand - and a lot of spam. This 
doesn't apply to forums.

In my opinion mailing lists should be reserved for specific discussions (not 
help) while support things should be in a forum and only in a forum. 

So I personally would highly appreciate an official Suse-forum, as long as 
developpers and experts will receive new topics per e-mail and are willing to 
do the same brilliant helpers job as they do here on the mailing lists. 

Ideally, one should be able to subscribe to the "whole forum" (i.e. receive 
all entries just like in a mailing list), to one ore more specific group(s) 
of topics (like "compiling" or "video" or what ever), or to individual 
topic(s). If then it would even be possible to answer to the forum by e-mail 
(without logging into the forum online) it would be great, I guess this would 
make it very easy and fast for helpers.

These are just some thoughts of a common user, it's no criticism at all...

kind regards to everybody

Daniel

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]