No subject

advice. Please tolerate us new folks, whether we ask educated or
even ignorant questions. Be gentle and point us in the right
direction; after all, we will learn and will become the next
generation of folks who can answer the easy questions. Someday we
might even answer the hard ones too.

A few observations:

 - every list I participate in has similar problems. Even if the
	FAQs, archives and docs are rock solid. Newbies need help,
	and a users list is a great resource to turn to; particularly
	when a google-archive search turns up thousands of hits that
	one needs to wade through to find a simple answer.

 - I'd suggest keeping business posts here, including commercial
	posts. I participate in ecommerce lists (where the nature of
	the subject mostly dictates a lot of commercial traffic), and
	it works well. Aside from hobbyists, I would believe that many
	people who need/want asterisk are SMBs. Embrace this group, it's
	a lucrative market. People who sell related products and services
	have a vested interest in answering questions; showing one's
	expertise builds ones reputation which in the long run turns
	into profit to the expert, ie: referrals.

 - Keep your list as open (and friendly) as possible; if I had to
	answer a quiz (or even be forced to read a FAQ) prior to
	posting, I might go elsewhere. (Note: I'm not saying one
	*shouldn't* read a FAQ, just don't make it part of your users
	list sign-up)

If the goal of the list is to promote asterisk use, then tolerate the
newbie asking a FAQ on the list and gently point him to the FAQ link
rather than flaming them for not reading the FAQ.

Just a few humble opinions from an outsider; I've seen this work
well (not necessarily perfectly) in other places including our own
lists that we host. :)

cheers,
James