[Asterisk-Users] Skype - Bandwidth

[Steven Critchfield]

On Mon, 2005-03-14 at 16:46 -0600, Jay Milk wrote:
> Yes yes, it's totally hypocritical to post the following, but I think
> everyone should read it (yes, I think I'm just THAT important).
> 
> Here's a perfect example of a mis-post that was blown out of proportion.
> When I first saw Cesar's post, I responded off-list to the effect that
> this would be the wrong forum to ask this question.  If others had done
> the same -- responded off-list -- or simply ignored that message, that
> would have been the end of the thread.  Instead, 16 more messages
> clogged the list.
> 
> Yes, it's necessary to explain to posters why certain messages won't get
> answered.  But I don't think it's necessary to do it in front of 10,000
> people.  Yes, it's annoying that some folks don't understand or respect
> the "rules" of this list -- but in absence of a moderator, there aren't
> really any rules here.  It's also annoying that some don't make the
> effort to find an answer before asking, and then get upset that nobody
> will explain to them what a telephone is, or what "VoIP" means.  But if
> you look back at the last week or two, the majority of the "noise" on
> this list comes from those who are responding and then enter a drawn out
> argument as to why the initial post bothered 10,000 people.
> 
> I believe the list volume would decrease by at least 50% if we all
> simply took our disagreements off-list, or ignored messages that don't
> belong.  And in the process, the "signal-to-noise ratio" here would
> greatly improve.
> 
> If you don't agree, please ignore this message or respond off-list.  If
> you do agree, great.

The problem of taking these messages off list is exactly that no one
else sees the answer or at least the reason for no answer. There are
many lists that I come across that seem to think that answering via
private email is a good idea. Trouble is that the information then isn't
archived for later searchers to reap the benefit of the exchange.

If the occasional user doesn't get reminded publicly that what they did
was wrong, you would have more people assuming it is okay to do the same
thing.

If you didn't see the occasional person pulled over for speeding, would
you eventually let your speed creep up while driving?

You are right though that the extra responses are usually not necessary.
I understand that some feel the need to smooth the waters. I equate it
to a child getting spanked by one parent and running crying to the other
parent for some consoling. I am quick to "spank" users who misbehave.  

-- 
Steven Critchfield <critch at basesys.com>