[OpenIndiana-discuss] Help with website

[Doug Hughes]

On 10/11/2011 6:10 AM, Dmitry Kozhinov wrote:
>  > doesn't "pull" let them manage their own time better?
>
> Yes. This is why my vote is for forum, not mailing list.
>
> Dmitry.
>

I've stayed out of this thread thus far, and probably will going 
forward, but I vastly prefer mail lists and I think the above is a 
non-argument. Forums do not allow better time management by any 
objective means. In a mail list, I am equally capable of sending all of 
the mail list to a folder, or not, threaded in my mail reader, or not, 
as I choose, and I can read them whenever I want. If I see a topic pop 
up that interests me, I can read it then, or not. I can make agile 
changes in my interests easily.

Forums have one major failing for me: Out of sight is out of mind.

If I have to go to a website, login (maybe it has cookies, maybe it 
doesn't; maybe it does and I don't want the website to remember my 
password!) then find the thread or topic where I left off, which will 
take a few clicks or more depending upon how long it has been. Mail 
messages are all right there, and I only need to go to the most recent 
undeleted or unread one with less effort.

But, there is also a tradeoff in volume. If a mail list starts receiving 
100s of messages a day it becomes less useful and it might as well be a 
forum. Linux kernel development lists come to mind. Those would be more 
useful as a forum. There are very few topics in there that actually 
might interest me and the flood of mail makes it a chore. OI is a 
smallish mail list (aside from this thread!) so managing the (normally) 
20 messages that come in in a day is easier in my inbox.

thresholds matter.

$.02