[Asterisk-Dev] RFC: Moderating the Asterisk Mailing Lists

[Steven Critchfield]

On Fri, 2005-01-07 at 20:40 +0100, Bruno Hertz wrote:
> On Fri, 2005-01-07 at 13:11 -0500, Gregory Junker wrote:
> 
> > Follow Mark's model: if you are not interested in answering someone's 
> > question in a courteous manner, then simply don't. "DTFG" and "RTFM" and 
> > non-directed pointers to arbitrary Wiki pages (or even worse, to the 
> > Wiki home page), and especially, "read the f***ing source code", do not 
> > fall under "courteous reply".
> 
> Greg
> 
> as an asterisk newbie, I'd like to support your view, especially your
> remark about either answering politely or not at all. Nobody is
> required to answer 'noise' mails if he/she doesn't like to. Actually,
> if nobody does I'm pretty sure the noise level will eventually drop.

Incorrect, non responses breed more noise as too many newbies turn right
around and repost due to a perceived failure. Plus you haven't laid down
any acceptable ground rules as to what is tolerated. So you slide down
the slope into ever increasing noise.

> As a sidenote, and this is not meant as criticism since it's neither
> my business nor do I really care, but of all open source projects
> I've been following through the years, and I may say it's been quite
> alot, I've never experienced so much talking about money as it happens
> on the asterisk lists. While I welcome a successful OS project as
> much as anybody else, I still have a feeling that this one attracts a
> special breed of people who, basically, smell profits.

Your very correct in that many of us are getting paid for our knowledge
of asterisk. I am very confident my knowledge of asterisk has helped
secure my job. 

It is also very true that most phone users don't give a single care in
the world as to how the phone works, just that it does. Phones are still
a large and complicated system that had to be managed appropriately to
keep them stable and always on. This is way beyond most normal users
want or capacity. So in steps someone, and in this case consultants.
Someone has to be payed for the job of maintaining it all.

Then of course you have soo many of the users around that are looking to
make profit from ways they use the phone. They must spread it around a
bit or risk loosing support.

In general, every one has to pay to be part of the community. Developers
are trading knowledge and code with each other. Occasionally they share
with others in an effort to get the newer users up to a point where they
can share as well. If someone doesn't seem to be able to put forth the
effort, they are likely to never become a contributer unless they pay
someone who will contribute. 

> As said, this is not meant as a complaint to which I have no right nor
> reason anyway, but rather as an encouragement for those people who still
> try to maintain an open, educated and welcoming culture in this maybe a
> little tense environment.

I truly do get excited when I see someone learn. I have no tolerance for
someone who expects to be spoon fed. A person putting forth effort to
learn is one who is actively taking in new information and applying it
to a problem. You can see where they start firing off new ideas and they
match with what you are teaching. That is when you know the person is
getting it. Unfortunately too many people never get passed spoon
feeding. We don't need spoon feed users unless they are the ones being
serviced by consultants. We WANT the ones who can really think on their
own and are soo much more likely to contribute back.

-- 
Steven Critchfield <critch at basesys.com>