Re: Distributing a procmail filter (was: Re: splitting up the...)
[ I'm starting to think we need another list for this thread. ]
On Tue, 5 Aug 1997, Richard G. Roberto wrote:
> On Mon, 4 Aug 1997, Brandon Mitchell wrote:
>
> >
> > I've been trying to get in touch with the c.o.l.a. moderator (I'm pretty
> > sure that's who it was) to get permission to add a modified version of
> > his procmail filter to /usr/doc/procmail/examples. It includes things
> > like blacklist, whitelist, vacation, newsgroup filters, etc. However, I
> > haven't had a response so I may just send it to the procmail maintainer
> > to see what he/she thinks.
>
> This is rediculous. First of all, I get my mail from a POP3
> server on some system somewhere I don't even have access to.
> There's no way for me to filter incoming mail. I have to
> download all of it first -- and its costs a helluva lot more
> to connect here than it does in the heart land.
>
> Second of all, requiring newbies to use procmail filters
> just to get help is totally unreasonable. I think if they
> can figure out procmail, they don't need much help in the
> first place.
I believe you have mis-read what I have said. I'm personally in favor of
a debian newbie. I'm working on a debian news, and will post an example
as a request for comments by the end of this week. I don't want 500
messages per day that I have to sort through with procmail. The
reference to procmail that I was making was to have experienced users
that wanted to supscribe to all list automatically filter out cross
post. The theory that splitting up the splitting up the mailing list
into 2 will actually result in 2/3 the original mail (1/3 on each), not
4/3 (2/3 on each) that would happen if crosspost were not filtered out.
Please give me a counter example not to want debian-newbie:
1) the name isn't that bad, they've used it on the linux list.
2) volume will decrease if cross post are filtered out.
3) newbies get a low volume list (at least for a while, linux-newbie got
pretty bad).
4) gurus get a low volume list, no more scanning through newbie stuff.
5) newbies know where to post. When you start asking questions the
newbies can't answer (or any of the gurus that follow deb-newbie), you
move on to debian-user.
Why I don't like question, reply to sender, summary format:
1) some questions need to be discussed in public.
2) newbies will still ask questions, and this format will just confuse them.
3) some don't post summaries.
Why I don't like the topics in the subject lines:
1) you still have to put up with a load of messages per day (as Richard
pointed out).
2) newbies can easially set up filters to deal with this volume.
I do agree with the periodic mailing list faq. If it's posted bi-weekly,
and also on the web page (with a link at the mailing list section and in
the documentation), I think newbies will read before posting.
This is not a slam on newbies. We were all newbies at one point, and
until we work something out, they have nowhere else to go.
Brandon
--
TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to
debian-user-request@lists.debian.org .
Trouble? e-mail to templin@bucknell.edu .
Reply to: