Apple Mail has not been copying the mailing list, so excuse the reposts if you got one.
Begin forwarded message: > From: Elliot Chance <elliotcha...@gmail.com> > Date: 15 November 2010 9:02:43 PM AEDT > To: Thom Brown <t...@linux.com> > Subject: Re: [GENERAL] Postgres forums ... take 2 > > On 15/11/2010, at 8:37 PM, Thom Brown wrote: > >> On 15 November 2010 08:34, Elliot Chance <elliotcha...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Hi again, >> >> I've taken in all the feedback about http://forums.postgresql.com.au and the >> general consensus is that nobody wants a separate entity - a few people >> mentioned that if it was interoperable with the mailing list that it would >> be better. So I did. >> >> The concept goes like this; >> 1. Any posts to the general mailing list will be picked up by the forum, the >> email data is converted and posted on the forum, for example; >> http://forums.postgresql.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=39 >> 2. Any reply to the forum will do the reverse and send the post back to the >> mailing list as a reply. >> >> This means the forum can be fully controlled through the mailing list >> without the need to visit the forums directly. However those people who >> prefer to use a forum interface can, and those messages are relayed back >> through the mailing list to get answered. >> >> Step 1 is complete (might need a little tweaking, i've only tried it with a >> couple of topics.) Step 2 I haven't begun - wanted to get some more feedback. >> >> All the forum topics and posts are back-dated to match the emails, which >> means it would be *theoretically* possible to load in the entire postgres >> mailing list archive but I wouldn't do that on a server that couldn't handle >> that much data. >> >> Disclaimer about user names: >> User names are registered automatically based on the unique email address of >> the person emailing the response. Each user is given a random 8 character >> password. You can use the recover password page to login to your account and >> change your user name to anything you want, the only important thing is that >> your email address matches. >> >> I know this is a sensitive issue with some people, i've made sure no >> information is posted thats not already currently being indexed by google. >> >> The only maintenance I can see is that all new topics are pushed into the >> General > Other category as the script can't differentiate what category it >> should in fact belong to, once the topic is moved it will stay there. This >> shouldn't be a real problem as theres not many new topics being created on >> any given day. >> >> Elliot, >> >> That's actually some good work you've done there! I didn't know phpBB >> supported bidirectional mailing list support. > > It doesn't. I have a subscription address that is piped into a PHP script > that uses the phpBB3 APIs to do all you see. > >> >> I think, however, that having such a forum at a .com.au address isn't >> particularly desirable, as it implies it's regional. If others are happy >> for you to work on this, it might be an idea to speak to the existing web >> team to see if they are able to provide you with pointers and possibly >> resources to get such a thing up and running. It would be nice, for >> example, to have forums.postgresql.org set up. > > I was just amazed that postgresql.com.au was available (in australia you need > a registered company to get a .com.au address so that's why.) > > At the moment its running on mysql (I know, but they don't support postgres) > but it will work with postgres. The forum software, database and scripts I've > written are all portable so theres no reason why it couldn't be moved to > another domain any time in the future. Obviously at the time I couldn't use > forums.postgresql.org. > > Lets see how it goes, if it does turn out to be useful then we'll have a chat > to the developers. > >> >> A few points though. I think we'd need to disable smileys, bbcode, any form >> of rich text formatting, flash or embedded images. In short, plain text >> only, which is the policy on the mailing list. I think it would be more >> useful if each forum directly corresponded to a mailing list too. What I >> mean is that if there was a forum on the site which didn't match to a >> mailing list, only forum users could use it. > > If someone were to send a reply on the forum all the bbcode would be stripped > before emailing it to the mailing list to keep the mailing list "pure." Is > that what you mean? > >> >> Also, if someone registers on the forum, do they get a major domo >> registration email? And if so, would this be set to receive no emails upon >> registration? I'm not clear as to how this step would work because, at the >> moment, mailing list subscribers have to subscribe on a list-by-list basis. >> So registration to the forum site wouldn't necessarily mean they'd want to >> join any particular mailing list. Similarly, could they unregister easily? >> And anyone who attempts to post to a mailing list they aren't subscribed to >> requires moderation, so we don't wish to exacerbate this. > > No they are not registered on the mailing list, but they actually don't need > to be, let me explain: > 1. John Smith has a postgres related question and finds the forums, he signs > up and posts his question. > 2. His post is then emailed to the mailing list under a generic registered > address like "mailingl...@postgresql.com.au" > 3. Bob House reads Johns question on the mailing list and simply sends an > email reply. > 4. The email reply is piped into the forum and matches the topic based on the > email subject (thats how it currently does it.) > 5. John gets an email from phpBB along the lines of "Bob House has replied to > your post, click here" (all forums do this) he reads the response and is > happy. > > This is the best balance of no-fuss and expert response, keeping in mind that: > * John can still sign up to the mailing list like anyone else if he wants to. > * All of John's forums communications are in the postgres mailing list > archive now. > >> >> But that's a nice start. :) > > I thought smilies were banned ...... :D > > Nothing is set in stone. There almost definitely will be forum categories > added/merged/removed, lets call this a beta. > >> >> Cheers >> >> -- >> Thom Brown >> Twitter: @darkixion >> IRC (freenode): dark_ixion >> Registered Linux user: #516935 >
