Alex Chekholko wrote:
> On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:05:49 +0100
> Sven-Hendrik Haase <sh AT lutzhaase DOT com> wrote:
>
>
>> Other advantages I see compared to using mailing lists only:
>> 1) Improved overview since it is visually more pleasing and more
>> sub-categories can be used.
>> 2) It's easier to track complex topics.
>>
>> I'm not suggesting the removal of mailing lists in favor of forums, I'm
>> merely suggesting the forums should be added to the main site, mainly in
>> order to get support.
>>
>
> One could also view them as the same thing just with a different interface.
>
> Curtis Preston's site already translates this list into forum form:
> http://www.backupcentral.com/phpBB2/two-way-mirrors-of-external-mailing-lists-3/bacula-25/
>
Admitted, it's quite browseable as an archive. But posting from it? How
many more accounts do I have to create all over the place, and how many
more passwords to track? No thanks. One signup per product for a mailing
list or forum is acceptable. TWO for the same product? That's much.
That is why any forum or the like should be ONE single message one
that's easily searchable (and I agree with other posters that the SF
browsing is frustrating, to term it politely). Preferably, there should
be a mechanism to prevent republishing on other sites (Currently, many
sites are republishing mailing lists for advertising $$$, and it makes
Googling a real chore).
That said, I do think that a forum format for posting would be good.
Right now, I accidentally deleted one of the emails in this thread, and
suddenly it is impossible for me to respond to it. Also, there are times
when I don't have email (such as when I stop my mail server for a full
backup - yes, I know, I can use LVM snapshots) but still have Web access.
There is another problem with the email mailing list: please keep in
mind that the majority of people on this mailing list are ordinary
users. Not people who live and breath bacula 24 hours a day the way
developers do, but people who have another job to complete, and bacula
may be just 1% of that job. For such people, like me, an email list
means that my mailbox gets filled up every day with posts from people
who have questions completely unrelated to how I use bacula. As a matter
of fact, I get more emails from the bacula mailing list every day than
pass my spam filter! Once I have bacula running, hopefully I will not
need this mailing list for weeks on end.
With all that said, I think there already is an excellent solution
available that solved all these problems: Yahoo Groups. OK, Open-Source
purists probably don't like it because it's proprietary. Quite frankly,
though, I have to say: "so what?"
- It works both as a forum and as a mailing list, and is nicely
integrated between the two.
- Single sign on for many groups. VERY important.
- You can post by email or on the Web.
- Spam doesn't seem to be a major problem; Yahoo solved it (except for
their Grouply problem).
- It preserves threading properly (unless somebody using email breaks it
- that's even more of a problem with mailing lists).
- Nearly everybody already has a Yahoo account anyway - and tied to an
email address.
- You can turn off email delivery, and still participate in the group.
Maybe of SF improves their email list, it would be the ideal solution.
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