This may have already been thought of, but correct me if I'm wrong. I see a lot of posts on the list from new list-members and veterans alike, most of which concern run-of-the-mill questions.
Many of these are answered on the Twiki site, while a lot more are answered repeatedly here on the list. For whatever the reason, be it response time, difficulties in finding answers on the Twiki, or in-experience in knowing what to search for, we've seen a lot of the same questions asked and answered on this list many times over.
While I see that some questions can be affected by an individual's specific situation, many are also very common to all Mandrake-Linux users.
Over time, like others, I have been copying/pasting a variety of tidbits of info and useful command fragments from this list, into a text file, which I keep handy for reference purposes. Many are items which I only need once in a 'Blue Moon', while others are in my text file for quick pasting into a root shell.
Since many users are interested in finding their answers as quickly as possible, while others on this list are hoarders of vast amounts of 'Tips 'n' Tricks', I'd like to suggest a different approach to delivering some of the "Giga-Quads' of data stored in our collective memories (whether that memory be gray matter, text or stored digital data) to all List-members.
What I propose is a series of repeating emails sent to the list in a similar method to the 'Welcome to Newbie' emails which we all receive.
Each email could consist of a variety of tips, articles, links, etc., in a similar fashion to a newsletter.
This newsletter or information email could consist of any sort of information that could be useful to any/all and could be split into various sections. Much of the content could be copied from the Twiki site and a 'feature of the Week' article could also be added, be it humorous, technical, or thought-provoking in nature.
With all the new folks and soon-to-be Linux enthusiasts joining the list this might be the next evolution in providing help and support to the members while adding an entirely(?) new method of delivering relevant info to newbies or 'Gurus' alike.
Does this sound like a manageable or feasible project to anyone? Is it something worth considering? My reason for suggesting it is simply because of the amount of repetitive posts and queries I see on this list.
Having something like a newsletter would also allow people to compile their own libraries on a variety of technical topics, which can be reviewed offline at their leisure, while cutting back on some of the redundant posts to the list.
Following along this line of thought, would it be possible to post the newsletters on the Twiki site for future reference, with a possibility of any user requesting those article by email at a later date?
It's just an idea for discussion, but perhaps it's also a 'pro-active' method of getting the info out to people?
Just a suggestion.
At first glance, this seems like a useful suggestion, but I'd like to see some research first, to determine whether such a service is actually wanted.
I've worked with many voluntary bodies in the past, and I've seen many projects started that "seemed like a good idea at the time" but which have ended up extremely time-consuming for the volunteers with little if any benefit for the intended end-users. Once such projects have started, it is difficult to get them stopped without causing offence to the volunteers!
I've noticed that list traffic seems to have dropped considerably in the last couple of years. While a list with heavy traffic can be overwhelming to new users, a list where the traffic is too light can also be off-putting - if there are few posts, and all the posters appear to be "old friends" sharing jokes that are incomprehensible to a newcomer, it can take a great deal of bravery for a newbie to pop his/her head over the parapet, break into the chat, and actually ask a question.
Perhaps if we can work out *why* the list traffic has dropped we might be able to find a solution - if there's actually a problem! Here are some possible reasons (comments welcome!):
- Fewer people using Mandrake
- Mandrake has become so easy to use that fewer people are having problems
- People are actually reading the weekly "Welcome" message, and are finding the answers to their questions in the mail archives or in the Twiki, so not needing to ask on the list
- People incorrectly posting newbie-style questions to the expert list, in the mistaken belief that the newbie list is populated entirely by newbies and that the expert list is where the "experts" live
So, before a bunch of already busy people start spending their time producing and maintaining something that may not be needed at all, maybe we could produce a questionnaire for list subscribers - find out how experienced they are, what other sources of help they use at the moment, and if they think newsletters (or something else) would be a good idea, etc.
Just my thoughts...
-- Regards Margot *-*-*-* Sent using Thunderbird on a 100% Microsoft-Free Computer Registered Linux User 307617 http://counter.li.org Mandrakelinux release 10.1 (Community) for i586 kernel 2.6.8.1-24mdk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Both models are identical in performance, functional operation, and interface circuit details. The two models, however, are not compatible on the same communications line connection. -- Bell System Technical Reference ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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