-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 4/25/2007 10:58 PM, Matthias Schmidt wrote: > Am/On Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:52:35 -0400 schrieb/wrote Winston Weinmann: > >> A user forum does not have that problem, but of course does not "push" >> questions out to users. A forum also keeps a more readily available >> history, and provides a place for evolving "FAQ" answers. I have >> wondered why CTM used a list as it seems less flexible than a user forum. > > Forums are slow and have all that blinky pinky stuff. > It is inconvenient it just s*cks. > I definitely prefer a mailing list. > But we have also an achive: > <http://www.mail-archive.com/powermail-discuss%40ctmdev.com/> > > Thanks and all the best > > Matthias >
It is true that a web based forum will never be as fast or as clean in the interface as a text based mailing list but... Forums are only as slow as the load originating from them and the speed of the receiving computer. I'm not sure what you mean by "blinky pinky stuff" (emoticons, ads, something else, all three?) but there are some very clean ones. I find the Mozilla forums to be relatively clean and quick. Forums can be easier to follow because of a richer interface. The sorted threads (by larger topic first, then individual threads second) allow for a user to find what he or she is seeking quite quickly. A sound choice of board or forum names plus thread topics will of course help. FAQs can be built up quickly by the community and maintained by a central authority with not too much effort. Forums are self documenting in that the forum *is* the archive. Forum software is now almost an off-the-shelf affair. Most forum packages come with decent search tools included. In conclusion, while I find the current mailing list technology fine for a topic as focused as PowerMail, it is wrong to brand all forums with a broad brush. It is also bad debating form to dismiss something because "it just sucks". -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.3 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGMKgvuprXnyzF8jkRAqmdAJ0SH6NTtPFqwFaDJ5cKSFedOo4kWgCgnwn3 8vsRlHCyDInBhd05oMd6DbQ= =V2ZN -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
