[asterisk-users] RFC -- Improving the quality of the mailing lists

[David Gibbons]

The higher you raise the barrier for entry to the mailing list, the more you decrease the amount good the mailing list is actually capable of doing. (barrier height is inversely related to how much help we can provide to the people that need help the most)

I agree with you regarding the subject spelling/misspelling as it pertains to indexing on the search engines, etc. But if you require those posting to jump through your *10* hoops for the first *10* times they post something (yes, that's 100 hoops. I'm tired of jumping already), you are artificially limiting the number of users that this list can actually help.

I don't like getting broken English replies and questions that don't make any sense any more than the next person, but I also get a good chuckle out of reading them. And reading replies that tell people to 'rm -rf /*' gives me a good laugh, too. The only way to REALLY learn is to make mistakes, even if you're making those mistakes because you took the 'advice' that someone gave you for free on the mailing list...

Give me a break :) Mailing lists are supposed to be fun and get off topic sometimes. That's what makes them interesting.

--Dave

PS: Can anyone help me with my broken *.? the ntework card is blinking red and the sips are dropping with echoes. Tai? LOL.




-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com [mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Steve Edwards
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 10:58 AM
To: Asterisk Users Mailing List
Subject: [asterisk-users] RFC -- Improving the quality of the mailing lists

The -user and -dev mailing lists are a valuable resource -- when they are
not cluttered by posts unrelated to the "charter" of the lists.

In my limited memory, this last weekend represents a new low in the
"relevant subject to noise ratio."

Replying to requests with meaningless, misleading, or misspelled subject
lines ("I need help," "asterisk help," "Ntework Card") encourage careless
posting and obfuscate useful replies from search engines.

Also, while replying to such requests may seem helpful, some of the
requests indicate such a lack of basic understanding that giving the
answer is like giving a small child a very sharp knife when they ask for a
slice of bread.

For example: "How do I delete these files that end in that squiggly thing
in my current directory and all directories below?"

Since most of these users are probably running as root, a simple "extra
space here and a missed character there" ("rm --force --recursive /* ~" vs
"rm --force --recursive ./*~" can have catastrophic consequences.

In an attempt to improve the quality of the lists, I propose the
following: For a user's first 10 posts, they will receive a reply with a
link to a web page and have to answer the following questions:

0) I acknowledge that I am asking for free help and I acknowledge that
following the conventions below increase my chances of engaging another
list member with relevant expertise and resolving my request.

1) I am posting a new request.

a) My request cannot be answered on a more general list such as Beginning
Unix, or on a distribution specific list.

b) My request cannot be answered on a more specific list such as an
AsteriskNow or Trixbox list.

c) I have attempted to search for an answer using a search engine such as
Google.

d) I know what "thread hijacking" is and I created this request from
scratch.

e) I have created a meaningful subject line that indicates with as much
specificity as reasonable which part of Asterisk I need help with and why.

f) I am not posting a self-serving message directing someone to my product
that would be better posted to the -biz list.

g) I am not posting in HTML.

h) I am posting in English.

i) I am fluent in English or I have attempted to have someone who is
review my request.

j) I have run my request through my spell checking resources.

or

2) I am posting a reply to a post.

a) I know what "top posting" is and I am not ignoring the "convention" of
the list.

b) I am not posting a self-serving message directing someone to my product
that would be better posted to the -biz list or only to the requester.

c) I am not posting in HTML.

d) I am posting in English.

e) I am fluent in English or I have attempted to have someone who is
review my post.

f) I have trimmed the previous post down to just the point(s) I am
replying to.

g) I have run my request through my spell checking resources.

For -dev, the following questions would be added:

) My post directly relates to changes in the Asterisk C source code.

) I am not reporting a bug or a posting a patch that should be directed to
bugs.digium.com.

Included in the web page would be the original message with the ability to
change the list the message is to be posted to, the subject line, and the
body of the message.

Comments?

Thanks in advance,
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Edwards      sedwards at sedwards.com      Voice: +1-760-468-3867 PST
Newline                                             Fax: +1-760-731-3000

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