[OpenIndiana-discuss] Help with website

[Gregory Youngblood]

On Oct 9, 2011, at 12:37 PM, Ken Gunderson wrote:

> On Sun, 2011-10-09 at 12:32 -0700, Gregory Youngblood wrote:
>> On Oct 9, 2011, at 11:38 AM, Ken Gunderson wrote:
>> 
>>> On Sun, 2011-10-09 at 02:51 -0400, Richard L. Hamilton wrote:
>>>> On Oct 8, 2011, at 9:49 PM, Josef 'Jeff' Sipek wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> On Sat, Oct 08, 2011 at 06:35:57PM -0600, LinuxBSDos.com wrote:
>>>>>>>> As Bernd Helber remarked, forums can play a significant role in Linux
>>>>>>>> distributions, as they allow users to "have conversations". It would be
>>>>>>>> great if an initiative to create one for OI could be started.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I agree that forums are more user-friendly when you're searching for
>>>>>>> an answer that already exists. However, I find mailing lists easier to
>>>>>>> interact with and reply to on a regular basis. I think the reason the
>>>>>>> OpenSolaris forums worked so well is that each forum also had a
>>>>>>> mailing list bridged with it, so you got the best of both worlds (easy
>>>>>>> search and easy participation). My request would be the the mailing
>>>>>>> lists not be dumped in favor of forums, but rather set up as another
>>>>>>> way of participating with the forums.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I didn't call for abandoning the mailing list, rather for setting up
>>>>>> something that is more community-oriented.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> So, who's gonna make the decision?
>>>>> 
>>>>> I think that having a bridge between the two would be great.  Either way, we
>>>>> could set up some experimental thing and see if it works.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Jeff.
>>>> 
>>>> I must be old-fashioned, but I find an NNTP server easier than forums (and less junk accumulating on my mail server).  Seamonkey has an adequate reader, although I prefer knews.  Those have nice threading, killfiles, etc.  And they're usually _much_ faster and less problems than a web forum.
>>> 
>>> +1!!!
>>> 
>>> Sad that newer generation seems to have missed this very useful protocol
>>> - indeed, as some have argued, "the original groupware".
>> 
>> Yes. as I said in a previous message, it seems the new generation of "internet" users are really "web" users. If it's not on the web it's doesn't really count. Sad.
> 
> Yet I have NEVER gone to e.g. FreeBSD forums for an answer.  Maybe they
> got some good people there.  I don't know.  But I DO know that the lists
> are where the true experts hang out.  Now if all you need is someone to
> point you to /etc or something.... ???
> 
> The point is that it depends a lot on the particular community. And it's
> goals.  OpenBSD, for example, has now desires for world domination and
> could care less whether I eat their dog food or not. 

I can't say that I've never gone to a forum for an answer. Sometimes Google takes me to forums when I'm looking up something. Other times it might be a mailing list archive.

I think the question that needs to be asked is who and what kind of user OI wishes to target and/or attract. I believe that's at the foundation of everything, and should provide the basis for deciding the direction on whether to set up forums or not.

Greg