From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri May 29 11:47:20 2009 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DC2D1106566C for ; Fri, 29 May 2009 11:47:20 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from keramida@ceid.upatras.gr) Received: from poseidon.ceid.upatras.gr (poseidon.ceid.upatras.gr [150.140.141.169]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 446E08FC0C for ; Fri, 29 May 2009 11:47:20 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from keramida@ceid.upatras.gr) Received: from mail.ceid.upatras.gr (unknown [10.1.0.143]) by poseidon.ceid.upatras.gr (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2EA1DEB59A2; Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:19 +0300 (EEST) Received: from localhost (europa.ceid.upatras.gr [127.0.0.1]) by mail.ceid.upatras.gr (Postfix) with ESMTP id 215DB44002; Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:19 +0300 (EEST) X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at ceid.upatras.gr Received: from mail.ceid.upatras.gr ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (europa.ceid.upatras.gr [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id EyaclbS+7CiT; Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:18 +0300 (EEST) Received: from kobe.laptop (adsl59-123.kln.forthnet.gr [77.49.186.123]) by mail.ceid.upatras.gr (Postfix) with ESMTP id B77D744FE2; Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:18 +0300 (EEST) Received: from kobe.laptop (kobe.laptop [127.0.0.1]) by kobe.laptop (8.14.3/8.14.3) with ESMTP id n4TBlHrB039865; Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:17 +0300 (EEST) (envelope-from keramida@ceid.upatras.gr) Received: (from keramida@localhost) by kobe.laptop (8.14.3/8.14.3/Submit) id n4TBlHSS039864; Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:17 +0300 (EEST) (envelope-from keramida@ceid.upatras.gr) From: Giorgos Keramidas To: Wojciech Puchar References: <6C96EEF057EDE24197FECB0D1EA035044A8F6EB461@h1341255.aoemedia.de> <744a9119476160472a319bbc9f4fd799.squirrel@relay.lc-words.com> <065001c9def1$54ae3f40$fe0abdc0$@za.org> <20090527124014.6998139c@gom> <20090527203000.GA1328@fusion.opticnetworks.net> <70C0964126D66F458E688618E1CD008A0793EDCC@WADPEXV0.waddell.com> <4A1EF89C.9040505@isafeelin.org> <87prdsr5ep.fsf_-_@kobe.laptop> <87r5y8cprs.fsf@kobe.laptop> <87bppci91h.fsf@kobe.laptop> Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 14:47:17 +0300 In-Reply-To: (Wojciech Puchar's message of "Fri, 29 May 2009 13:01:04 +0200 (CEST)") Message-ID: <87my8w6shm.fsf@kobe.laptop> User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/23.0.94 (berkeley-unix) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: On the need for moderated questions lists X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 11:47:21 -0000 On Fri, 29 May 2009 13:01:04 +0200 (CEST), Wojciech Puchar wrote: >> Because we already _have_ a list `for general FreeBSD questions', and it >> is open. Adding even more lists to the mix will --at least initially-- >> only serve as a source of mild confusion. Imagine you are a new FreeBSD >> user. > > Try to imagine it now. > > i see the webpage, the mailing lists, and ftp with installs and > documentation. > > webpage - clear, understandable, read and understood > documentation - simply excellent, nothing else to say. > unmoderated mailing lists - total off-topic mess, is it really FreeBSD > support? or maybe it's a chat. > moderated mailing list - not very much here, but at least about > FreeBSD. for sure i will ask here if i will need help with FreeBSD. This includes at least two hypothetical scenarios: a) That the current list is an off-topic 'mess'. b) That a moderated list would not be a 'mess'. The 'mess' you are basing the rest of the arguments on is an unproven hypothesis until you go through all the trouble of proving it. I, for example, do not consider the current freebsd-questions a 'mess' by any far stretch of imagination. I like the people who hang out here and explain what amusing and wonderful things they can do with FreeBSD. I have even learned new and exciting things by simply lurking here and watching the replies others are giving. So you have at least one important step before convincing the postmasters that we need to 'fix' a problem: Collect data and summarize it in a very concise and readable way that proves there *is* a problem. Note that this is going to be a bit tricky though. A great percentage of the posts in this very same thread may fall in the 'off topic' category you are trying to describe. Many of them have been sent by none other than the person who defines this particular notion of off-topic-ness: you again. It may be worth stopping for a moment to think about it. If this very same list was one that matches what you describe you would have *never* been free to post a great deal of the messages you are posting now. Would you choose to subscribe to it then? Would you still enjoy being a party in the collective group of people who post on this discussion forum? If the answer is 'no', then it means your ideal state of this list is a bit less than 'ideal', because it would fail to satisfy even you, the one who defined this ideal. If the answer is 'yes', then it means that you actually enjoy being free to post in a discussion forum that is open to all sorts of FreeBSD topics, as long as they have even the smallest semblance of a question (i.e. one valid question is then 'What is FreeBSD and why should I prefer it over Linux?'). But if the openness of the list is actually a nice attribute, then the effort to close it down or to introduce a less enjoyable form of a list for general FreeBSD questions is a bit wrong. It's really a very strange argument the one you are trying to make, and you haven't even *started* to prove that there is a 'mess', to base it upon.