Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 13:30:04 -0800 From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> To: Jeff Lewis <jlewis1957@netscape.net> Cc: core@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Time to shut down this list? Message-ID: <200412271330.05504@zaphod.softweyr.com> In-Reply-To: <6587631D.5034AB43.0F75C5EC@netscape.net> References: <6587631D.5034AB43.0F75C5EC@netscape.net>
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On Monday 27 December 2004 07:45, Jeff Lewis wrote:
> Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> wrote:
> >
> > If I knew of a good, simple FAQ that answered this, I would've pointed
> > you to it. The problem is, somebody else is going to want this same
> > question answered again next week, and they're not going to know to
> > search the archives for this wonderful answer I've just given you.
> > That's an even "better" problem to solve than simply answering your
> > question, even if it doesn't solve your immediate problem.
>
> I concur with your reasoning here. Does this mean that you believe the
> charter should be altered as opposed to disbanding the list?
No, I think the original charter would serve newbies better than asking
technical questions and receiving bad advice on the -newbies list. I'm all
for keeping the newbies list as a place to learn about other's experiences
with learning FreeBSD, and as a place to get general questions like 'how do I
learn more about running a web server on FreeBSD.'
What I don't want is to have an ongoing situation where questions get asked
and answered POORLY, leading people to believe that FreeBSD is somehow
broken.
When Sue Blake was the list nanny, issues like this generally got handled.
Sue hasn't been active for more than a year, and the quality of the
interactions has dropped because of it.
If the list is to survive, it needs another nanny (or a nanny group), to
direct people to FAQ, the -questions list, or other resources when they veer
outside the list charter and start needing technical help.
> Would you be willing to join Joshua Tinnin in supporting such a change
> by moderating the list, helping to determine when a question should go
> to the -questions list, and attempting to help the newbies with their
> issues?
>
> I KNOW that I am not asking you to do something simple. I recognize
> the significance of this. But as I originally stated, modifying the
> charter of this list without the support of folks like you and Joshua
> is simply foolish, and would absolutely CREATE the very scenario that
> Greg was trying to prevent, newbies getting wrong answers.
I'd like to, but I can't. Between work and family and FreeBSD I'm already
overbooked, I haven't had any real personal time in more than two years.
> I am not qualified to know who COULD be qualified to answer these
> questions either. At best, I can only express the desire to have a
> place where my dumb questions are not only expected, but where
> someone can actually see a little past the question and try to get
> at the underlying cause of the original confusion.
The cool part is, we don't need somebody who can answer questions, or even
necessarily tell the user where to get them answered. What we really need is
somebody to watch for threads that are veering off into non-newbies-list
topics and redirect those.
I don't know that it really requires official moderation, though we could do
that if the list members don't respond appropriately to suggestions by the
nanny(ies).
--
Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?
Wes Peters wes@softweyr.com
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