Re: Create d-user-woody, d-user-sarge maillists, deactivate d-user
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hereon" <hereon1@fastmail.us>
To: <debian-user@lists.debian.org>
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 04:28
Subject: RFC: Create d-user-woody, d-user-sarge maillists, deactivate d-user
> Request For Comment on:
> Enhancing the Debian mailing lists by:
> Creating debian-user-woody and debian-user-sarge mailing lists,
> and deactivating debian-user.
>
> Summary:
>
> 1) The Debian user community is substantially suboptimally served
> with the existence of the current debian-user list.
>
> 2) The debian-user list is _unnecessarily_ overtrafficked,
> [due to it being the most likely place to ask user questions, and find
> answers, regarding both Stable(Woody), and
> Testing/Unstable(Sarge/Sid)]
> which causes several problems for the Debian community:
> a) Wasted mental effort discerning which version a message
> pertains to,
> b) Wasted mental effort searching for information on either
> Woody or Sarge/Sid in the (currently) combined list.
>
> 3) The Debian community would be much better served
> a) by the creation now of two new mailing lists, called:
> 1) debian-user-woody, or possibly debian-user-stable,
> or possibly debian-user-3
> 2) debian-user-sarge, or possibly debian-user-sid,
> or possibly debian-user-sargesid,
> or debian-user-testing, or possibly debian-user-unstable,
> or possibly debian-user-testingunstable,
> or possibly debian-user-4,
> b) and, perhaps, by deactivating debian-user.
>
> 4) This message is requesting:
> 1) Comment regarding specific suggestions of how the situation
> could be inproved through the creation of 1 or more additional
> lists to augment or replace debian-user,
> 2) "Seconds" (to the motion) for the request of these changes.
>
> 5) After a comment period (perhaps one week), I will review &
> analyze the comments. I will then either:
> a) Submit a new RFC email, to solicit further clarifications &
> additions, or
> b) Submit a wishlist bug to request creation of the new lists, as per:
> http://debian.org/MailingLists/HOWTO_start_list
>
> 6) Once a wishlist bug for new list creation has been registered with
> the Debian bug tracking system, it would be very helpful if
> "several other people interested in the new list
> would send a mail to the bug, in order to record their interest"
>
>
> ========================================================================
> Debian stable releases have been approximately 1-2 years apart. During
> this period of time, many Debian users make active use of the
> testing/unstable system.
>
> Currently, user questions about testing/unstable are likely to be asked
> in the debian-user list.
>
> But, that is definitely not the best way that things could be.
>
> By asking T/U questions in the -user forum, this is putting
> communications on two logically separable topics (stable, and
> testing/unstable) into one channel/forum. This causes several problems:
>
> 1) The repeated need for QUESTION ASKERS to specify which of the two
> versions their question refers to.
>
> 2) The repeated need for READERS to be constantly alert as to which of
> the two versions each message is referring to.
>
> 3) The difficluty of being unable to easily FIND INFORMATION in the list
> archives relevant to a topic on which you want some information/data.
> Ex: Someone wanting info about a specific topic regarding T/U would have
> to try to de-cohere the combined list to find the messages pertaining to
> their (S, or T/U) system.
>
> These problems could be eliminated, and no new long term problems more
> serious than the current situation would occur, through the creation of
> two new mailing lists, perhaps called
> debian-user-woody and debian-user-sarge,
> and perhaps by deactivating the current debian-user list.
>
> An excellent time to do this would be just before the start of the new
> calender year, January 2004.
>
> Your solution oriented comments are greatly appreciated.
>
> Thank you. :-)
>
> =====
> If you think this would be a good idea, please reply to the list re this
> email, so that there is a public record of support for this enhancement
> of the Debian mailing lists. This is important for documenting desire
> for this enhancement, so that the Debian mailing list maintainer(s) will
> have evidence that this is useful for the Debian community. Thank you.
> :)
>
> ========================================================================
> Some relevant web pages:
>
> HOWTO request a mailing list
> http://debian.org/MailingLists/HOWTO_start_list
>
> Requests for changes to the mailing lists:
> Debian Bug report logs: package lists.debian.org
> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?pkg=lists.debian.org
>
> A recent mailing list creation request:
> request for new list: debian-desktop
> http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=218757
> ========================================================================
>
> --
> http://www.fastmail.fm - IMAP accessible web-mail
>
Sounds like a workable idea, this list has too much traffic. I would
suggest that consideration be given to a "newbie" list as well as a "stable"
and "unstable". This would give a way for new people to upgrade as
experience allows. For myself there is too much I just dont understang on
this list. Not the fault of the list.
Hoyt
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