community Digest, Vol 36, Issue 45

[kent at songbird.com]

On Fri, Jul 20, 2007 at 09:06:02AM -0600, Mathew Davis wrote:
> On 7/20/07, Adam Krikstone <krikstone at cox.net> wrote:
> >
> >IRC and lists are great tools at sending and distributing information
> >fast.  However, as more users, especially ones with little to no
> >experience with linux, begin purchasing neo's these lists will be
> >inundated with drivel.  There is only ~1000 people on this list and look
> >at simple problems with a glitch with gmail.  I get 90+ messages about
> >"is gmail broken," "gmail isn't working," "I think it is gmail," etc.
> >Do you really want to check your inbox and get 5000-10000+ messages
> >about simple mundane things as the neo's are released to the mass
> >market?  I suggested a forum to act as a buffer between the public and
> >IRC/lists.  The IRC/lists can be for developers/advanced users and
> >consumers can stay in the forums.
> 
> 
> I agree.  I don't understand why people are so opposed to having a forum.

It's because it's yet another place that you have to look.  

> It doesn't mean that if we had a forum we had to shut down the mailing
> list.

Then everyone has to look *both* at the forum and at the list, if they want
to keep up, or research a particular issue.  If things had started out as a
forum, then adding a list would be bad, for exactly the same reason. 

>  And no one is suggesting that mailing lists are outdated.  I think,
> at least for me, adding the strengths of another great tool to the growing
> list of already great tools is a good idea, especially once this starts
> hitting the market.  I think there are some definate strengths that a
> mailing list has that a forum could never have.  From my experiance I have
> found forums to be a great tool for the novice to advanced user.  People who
> know what they are talking about can help the beginer users and people who
> have more dificult questions can turn to the mailing list.  And if people on
> the dev team want to poke around in the forums the merrier but they don't
> have to.  I for one think that forums could really enhance the community.

At this point it's clearly a developer community, not a consumer community --
there are no consumers using a neo, and there won't be for 6 months to a
year, at least.  From my perspective, then, the time to start forums would be
when there is a significant consumer community. 

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