Aw: Re: Gnucash list protocols

[Peter Von Kaehne]

Forums are good if they are lively as they are searchable and easily understood by everyone. They also remove the need for receiving endless numbers of emails on matters irrelevant to one's own questions, while allowing easy browsing for those who want to answer a few questions for the sake of the common good, but do not have their email client warmed up. 

Forums are bad if they are filled by people who are clueless, while the clueful abstain. And they are really bad if they are not accepted by their users, so posts are infrequent and illinformed. Nothing is more dispiriting than a forum which is not taking off and full only with half started threads without any answers.

Email lists are good when they are accepted by the developers which leads to queries being generally answered more quickly. Flames though attract more nourishment as every post is received by everyone. And searchability is poor unless one keeps the whole archive around - which I do on my main computer, but not in my webmail accound which I use here right now. As a result unaswered queries often fizzle out and stay unanswered, if they are not picked up within a day or two. Further email lists are more onerous for the user with the occasional query, mainly at the start of using a programme. No one wants to have a dozen of mailing lists actively accummulating unread bulk.  

In general I think fora linked with email list  are a decent compromise and should be encouraged. Nabble tries to do this, but is not the only solution IIRC.

I am closely involved in a number of FOSS projects (libsword, Xiphos, BibleDesktop) and work preferentially on Linux other than when forced onto Windows. Here on GnuCash I am simply a grateful user. I do not think this is a matter of Windows vs Linux, but more a matter of age and - sorry to say this - affection. For us (CrossWire) fora failed largely because of lack of interest by the main developers which rendered the fora dead - the very same reasons applied. But I do think many of our users struggle with the preferred forms of support offered by us (mailing list + IRC).

None of this though answers why wm is allowed to flame in the fashion he does without any consequences for him. 

Peter
 

> Gesendet: Mittwoch, 17. Juni 2015 um 12:26 Uhr
> Von: "Dave H" <hellvee at gmail.com>
> An: "Gnucash Users" <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
> Betreff: Re: Gnucash list protocols
>
> I stand corrected - anyway we don't all want some annoying forum :-)
> 
> Cheers Dave.
> 
> 
> On 17 June 2015 at 21:19, Liz <edodd at billiau.net> wrote:
> 
> > On Wed, 17 Jun 2015 20:58:41 +1000
> > Dave H <hellvee at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Liz you're letting your bias against Windows show again.
> >
> > I'm usually far more up front that that. It's not a bias it's a full
> > sized anti-Microsoft feeling!
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