[prog] Possible closure of this mailing list

[Kathryn Andersen]

On Wed, Jun 06, 2007 at 08:50:46PM +0200, H. McManus wrote:
> >  - a lot of lists confuses people about which ones to subscribe to
> >
> 
> I don't see how having to choose between separate lists is any more  
> confusing/difficult then having to choose between multiple topics in  
> the one list. I also believe using the topic feature of mailman is a  
> less than optimal solution for the simple reason it relies on a  
> person remembering to do the right thing. A system that works only  
> some of the time is largely pointless.

Yes, I think that topics are actually *more* confusing.
 
> >  - it adds to our list admin load
> >
> 
> If admin is a problem then I will be more than happy to admin  
> programming@
 
And wouldn't adding topics to techtalk increase the list admin load for
techtalk?
 
> >  - it separates people from the larger groups that could help them
> >
> 
> No, what it does is put people in touch with the most appropriate  
> group to help them. No point reaching an audience of x hundred  
> readers if only a couple are interested and/or capable of responding.  
> With this list,  the posts will always reach the most appropriate and  
> interested readers.
 
I think the problem might be that people could post programming
questions on techtalk instead of here.  But if this list dissappears,
the problem will remain exactly the same, since the same newbies will
post programming questions on techtalk without the appropriate TOPIC
headers, and the programming-interested people will *still* miss the
questions (if they've subscribed to programming only, which is fairly
likely, because techtalk is such a high-traffic list).
 
> > 1. why either you think the traffic will increase markedly or the
> > present level isn't a problem

> I'm a little bit worried about what I perceive to be a mentality of  
> if a list isn't overflowing with posts then there must be something  
> wrong with it. This isn't some corporate body where if you don't use  
> your annual budget then next year's will be reduced accordingly. This  
> list is no busier nor quieter than what it needs to be in order to be  
> a helpful list.

Agreed.  Small is beautiful.
 
> > 2. why merging with techtalk would be a bad idea
> >
> 
> Because techtalk is not the appropriate place. There is overlap  
> between discussing technical issues and programming, but they aren't  
> the same thing. Just as I'm not necessarily interested in someone's  
> packaging woes, someone asking how to setup NAT with iptables is not  
> going to be the slightest bit interested in overloading java methods.  
> I do realise you can set up the whole mailman topic thing, but to me  
> it's a less than ideal solution to a problem that doesn't necessarily  
> exist.

The programming list was split from techtalk precisely because
programming topics were swamped by the "technical help" topics, and we
wanted a smaller, quieter space to talking about programming.
I don't think that need has changed.

Kathryn Andersen
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