> -----Original Message-----
> From: Greg Kopp [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 10:53 AM
> To: Chris Johnson; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: RE: Humorous
>
>
> It's too bad that the article was somewhat accurate. Although
> I cannot say
> that I have experienced the same kind of treatment, I have
> seen it, and it
> is deplorable. I don't pretend I am an expert on qmail, but I
> have been
> successful with several installations of it. Maybe I've been lucky.
>
Unfortunately, the qmail list wants to just be a discussion for high-level/
difficult qmail problems, and not a hand-holding/question-redirect list.
What's unfortunate about it? There aren't really any other forums for the
discussion.
Is there a solution? Well, the obvious one is to allow people to ask
newbieish
questions without being flamed. Even though qmail is logical, it's complex;
just because something is logical and coherent, doesn't mean it's
comprehensible.
Quantum physics theory is even more elegant, but considerably less
comprehensible.
But I understand that many people don't want the list inundated and their
mailboxes
invaded. I think that's perfectly reasonable. So, is there any alternative?
In fact, there are several. I think the best is to create a qmail newsgroup,
as that's
the perfect forum for both newbieish and slightly less newbieish discussion.
Contrary
to the opinions that were stated when a newsgroup was recently proposed
(first week of
June), I don't think a newsgroup would unnecessarily or improperly infringe
upon the
mailing list; rather, the mailing list would remain as a high-quality, low
volume
discussion of complex or arcane or theoretical qmail issues.
Another alternative that I find less appealing but perhaps more qmailian is
to create
another mailing list that expressly handles such qmail problems, like
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
or the such. Or maybe a whole host of mailing lists. Modularize the list!
I hope this isn't improper, but I'm attaching below my earlier post in
support of
comp.mail.qmail.
>
> On Wed, May 31, 2000 at 08:36:43AM -0400, Russell Nelson wrote:
>
> > I agree with you in general, Russ. The only benefit I can see to
> > comp.mail.qmail is that there is also a comp.mail.sendmail.
>
> The impression I gain is that reception amidst vocal
> qmail advocates is at best lukewarm. How many replied ?
> 4 or 5 on a list containing upwards of 800 list members.
Though I didn't comment, especially as I am not yet seasoned,
I want to state that I am in favor of comp.mail.qmail. I
intended my silence to be interpreted as implicit agreement
with the idea of forming the group; as it seemed that the RFD
would likely be presented to the news.groups, I didn't see
where my words would be particularly necessary.
Now, can I justify my position of wanting the newsgroup?
The primary arguments I found against the formation of
comp.mail.qmail are 1) The current situation is fine;
2) a newsgroup would take traffic away from the mailing
list 3) Usenet is Useless! (i.e. it used to be better than
mailing lists, now its not).
I don't personally see 1) as a real argument against the formation
of the newsgroup, unless it's coupled with 2). Yes, the current
situation is good, but it could be better.
2) is a slightly strange one. I'd actually like traffic on the
qmail list to go down, or more, stay where it is. Mailing lists
are good for small, relatively closed communities; ones that I
subscribe to include the excellent libwww-perl which is mainly
trafficked by the module owners, plus some newbie-q traffic.
Higher volume lists like the WWWAC list and Perl-Win-32-Web are
a pretty big mess.
3) Usenet needs updating. I've got some ideas on that, and anyone
who is interested in some bold ideas for shaking up the newsgroups
should drop me a line. However, I still think it's better than
mailing lists for a number of reasons, the first being threading.
Also, when traffic gets high, then newsgroups are clearly are
more rational option, as fewer copies of the messages are sent out.
Etc. etc.
These rejoinders offer some reasons for a newsgroup, but I want to
add that in my opinion, qmail is at the stage where a newsgroup is
appropriate. It's well-documented and tested, and I do expect it
to supplant sendmail over time. A newsgroup not only allows the
qmail community to grow gracefully, but it also serves as an excellent
advertisement for qmail. ("sendmail has its own newsgroup, but qmail
doesn't. Hmm, guess qmail isn't really ready/well supported/well
advocated.")
I hope there are some points here that seem to make sense.
