Re: Monthly FAQ for the Debian-user mailing list
On Sat, Oct 01, 2022 at 06:10:48AM -0400, The Wanderer wrote:
> On 2022-10-01 at 05:46, Andrew M.A. Cater wrote:
>
> > Debian-user is a mailing list provided for support for Debian users,
> > and to facilitate discussion on relevant topics.
> >
> > Some guidelines which may help explain how the list works:
>
> Allow me, if you will, to share my experience on receiving each month's
> copy of the mailing-list FAQ:
>
> "Oh, there's this month's repost of the FAQ."
>
That's probably a reasonable assumption. It's manually posted by me: it's
the same text, fairly well, each month (modulo any copying error), it's
not currently in version control. Now, I might be prepared to change
that if I were to make any significnt changes.
> "Well, there's no version number or last-changed date or other
> information like that, so I can't tell whether or not it's been updated."
>
> "I know I've read the FAQ before, so in the absence of any reason to
> think that it may have changed, I'll just assume that it hasn't, and
> skip reading it because I probably already know what it says."
>
Also a fair assumption: see above. This is really intended for new readers
- if I do the right thing, it comes early in the month on the first page,
relatively near the top. Anybody reading the list - and I *really* advise
folks to read lists rather than posting in passing - should see it.
>
> By contrast, if the FAQ *did* include an indication of when it was last
> updated, I would have one of two lines of reaction. Either:
>
> "Oh, there's this month's repost of the FAQ."
>
> "The version number is the same as last month's / the last-changed date
> is more than a month old, so I know I've already read it."
>
> "I'll skip reading it, because I already know what it says."
>
> Or:
>
> "Oh, there's this month's repost of the FAQ."
>
> "Hey, the version number has been increased / I don't know what version
> number last month's posting had / the last-changed date is recent, so
> there might be information in there that I'm not familiar with."
>
> "I'll read the whole thing, just to be sure I'm up to date on it."
>
(lots of good reasoning skipped for space)
>
> I therefore reiterate my suggestion, from what I think was one of the
> first times (a previous version of?) this FAQ was (re)posted, that some
> versioning information be attached to - and posted along with each copy
> of - this FAQ.
>
OK, understood.
All best, as ever,
Andy Cater
> --
> The Wanderer
>
> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
> persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
> progress depends on the unreasonable man. -- George Bernard Shaw
>
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