Re: On improving mailing list [was: How to Boot Linux ISO Images Directly From Your Hard Drive Debian]
Hello,
On Mon, Aug 09, 2021 at 07:26:50AM +0200, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Sun, Aug 08, 2021 at 09:33:02PM +0000, Andy Smith wrote:
> > My only suggestion was a Stack Overflow-style question-answer site.
> > Those aren't discussion forums.
>
> Two things: (a) SO is a commercial site. It has paid staff.
In my first post in this thread I did point out that it would be
better done in project-hosted DFSG-free service and that it has
already been tried at least twice by Debian and failed due to lack
of use.
If your point here is "who's going to do the work?" Well, most of
the moderation work on such sites is done by the people using the
sites.
Personally speaking I'd much rather have the option to -1 a totally
off-topic response than have to just ctrl-r to mark read a whole
sub-thread of nonsense when it only benefits me to do so.
> in such an unstructured medium, some self-imposed rules
> may help.
If people were able to impose them, yes. But here we are.
> See, for example Andrew's regular posts. This isn't anything
> "imposed from above" -- he went around here asking for ideas, etc.
Andrew does have perceived authority as a Debian Developer.
I agree that Andrew's posts serve as a good reminder of how things
should be.
> You could do that.
I am doing that: I am asking the Debian Project to can this list in
favour of an alternate solution or else to make it strictly for
Debian-related posts only.
I've already said that I think there will be too much opposition to
that suggestion, so I don't expect to see it happen. But you did
ask.
Self-restraint isn't working.
> > Have a look at https://askubuntu.com/ to get some sort of idea,
> > since that is at least a Debian derivative. But as I said, it has
> > been tried before and I think won't/can't succeed without buy-in
> > from the project.
>
> That's not my kind of discussion forum. I come across them through
> web searches, that's all the interaction I have there.
Yes, that is exactly my point in showing it to you. You have
correctly deduced that it is not a discussion site, mostly just
provide answers to your questions, and you have benefited from
finding those answers yourself.
You have also correctly seen my suggestion that Debian's primary
support venue should not have much interaction outside of problem
solving.
Those were my exact reasons for bringing up Ask Ubuntu.
I'm not saying there shouldn't be discussion and debate around
Debian (although I struggle to see why anyone would want to bring in
non-Debian topics even there). I'm just saying that the main place
for users to get support shouldn't be where that is expected to
happen.
> > > I feel we aren't doing that bad, considering the volume.
> >
> > It is perhaps not so bad for a general Debian community discussion
> > group,
>
> which is what it is
Yes, that's what it is right now, but you asked what could be
changed and I have suggested what I think should be changed about
Debian's primary user support venue. That it should not also be a
general Debian community discussion group.
> > where you would go into it thinking that pretty much anything
> > goes, but the fact is that this is Debian's primary support venue
> > for users new and old.
>
> TBH, I've seen many people here finding answers to their questions.
I've not argued that zero people are helped. You created this
sub-thread in response to someone [else] who said that there was too
much off-topic posting here.
> > I don't think that both audiences can be catered for in the same
> > place and I really think that we could and should do better.
>
> Feel free :)
Self-restraint isn't working.
Cheers,
Andy
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