Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2001 16:40:40 -0600 From: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> To: Christopher Sean Hilton <chris@vindaloo.com> Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: This list works poorly at best -- Was: Censorship... Message-ID: <15328.32232.365356.404656@guru.mired.org> In-Reply-To: <33937937@toto.iv>
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Christopher Sean Hilton <chris@vindaloo.com> types: > I would have to say that from where I sit the entire system sucks from > cradle to grave. In my typical experience I search the mailing list archives > and get no response since the search engine sucks. The second biggest > problem is that when you get a hit on search engine, which happens if you > are persistant with it, you end up with a list of posts that ask the same > question as yours but no answers. I always send my answers back to the list. And I also find other peoples answers in the archives. Rarely, I admit - but that's more because the archives suck than anything else. Do you ever bother asking people if they've solved the problem if you don't find an answer? I've found that generates answers as well. > All the responses went back to the > original sender and were not CC'd back to the list. At the end of this > process I compose a post which has a snapshot of the problem that I'm trying > to solve in subject line and details including the a run of the script that > I'm using, the output of uname and dmesg where possible and send that to the > list. This post gets completely ignored. Because you've committed a sin that's worse than providing to little information - you've provided to *much* information. uname and dmesg are rarely relevant. If they are, it should be obvious what small fraction of it is actually useful, and what is simply dross. Throw out the dross. > Don't even read posts with a subject line of ``Help'' or ``Question''. To= > =20 > read or, even worse, answer such a post bury's useful information in a plac= > e=20 > where the search engine won't find it.=20 I generally don't. I tend to ignore anything that's top-posted as well. > If you get a response to your question but that response was not posted to= > =20 > the list bounce or forward it back. It may save the next guy who has the=20 > same problem a couple of steps. I send my replies back to the list, along with relevant quotes for exactly that reason. <mike -- Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/ Q: How do you make the gods laugh? A: Tell them your plans. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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