Re: CS[List Owner] Archive Etiquette
Mike, One problem is that after performing a search and finding the correct post, there appears to be no way to refer to that post so that others can go read it. The only thing I have found is to repeat the original search criteria. Searched for (found) posts should have some sort of identification that can be re-entered by another person so they can find the specific post in the archives. Dan On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 3:58 AM, M. G. Devour mdev...@eskimo.com wrote: Hi folks, I've been meaning to post a message on how we use the archives when helping each other and new people. I imagine that most of you that have used them already, notice that search results can be all over the map. They're sorted, I think, by some measure of relevance. Whereas it might be nice to sort by date, subject, or sender as well, that is not an option at present. There are many ways to tweak and refine the search, but the syntax takes a bit of work to learn, and despite your best efforts, it can be tough to find exactly what you were looking for. I want you to keep this experience clearly in mind when you are tempted to suggest someone 'look in the archives' to answer a question. Even answering the simplest questions can become a nightmare search effort, especially when one doesn't know exactly what to look for. As a minimum, before telling them to make an archive search, please attempt it yourself -- and provide the search terms you found most useful. If it turns out to be more complicated than you thought, describe the steps you took, along with giving the relevant message links. Best of all, summarize and describe what you found, to give them a feel for the context *and* to add words to the archive that might aid other people's searches in the future. The idea here is, rather than send some poor soul off to assault the Great Wall of China with a teaspoon, instead give them a guided head start that lets them experience, first hand, bringing up the archive URL in their browser; typing search terms into the search box and hitting the button; and scrolling through and displaying the results to find what they need... Without having to figure it all out from scratch. I can imagine no better way to get them started learning how to help themselves! In the world of Linux geekdom, one of the worst forms of arrogance and hostility is expressed by the acronym, RTFM, which stands for Read The F***ing Manual. As an answer to a question, it is at best useless when you can't yet even find the right manual, let alone the right chapter or page. At worst, it's the kind of thoughtless and insulting response that drives people away for good. Please meet people where they're at. As you get better at using the archives, remember the learning curve you had to climb. Add in the ever present concern that someone might be stressed, fatigued, brain-fogged, in pain, or otherwise challenged by the health issues they're coming to us with, and it will be easier to remember why they might need a little more help than they ought to. I've been dreaming up a few suggestions to make to the archive folks to improve the interface, as well as thinking about how I can supplement the search facility via our own web pages. If you have ideas or suggestions based on your experience, please contribute them. Thank you for all the help and sharing that goes on here. You do good work, folks. Be well! Mike Devour siver-list owner [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [mdev...@eskimo.com ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: mailto:silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com?subject=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/silver-list@eskimo.com/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: mailto:silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com List Owner: Mike Devour mailto:mdev...@eskimo.com
Re: CS[List Owner] Archive Etiquette
Dan writes: One problem is that after performing a search and finding the correct post, there appears to be no way to refer to that post so that others can go read it. The only thing I have found is to repeat the original search criteria. It's a web page, Dan, and has a unique URL that won't change in the future. The only way I know of to send it to the list or somebody else is to copy and paste that URL into a mail message: http://www.mail-archive.com/silver-list@eskimo.com/msg132370.html That's the link to your post in the archives. Now you might have the display of the URL window turned off in your browser... In Firefox, that's activated by clicking View Toolbars and making sure that Addres and Search is checkmarked. There are also several options in the right-click menu for the page that would give you access to the web page address. I haven't used MS Internet Explorer for years, so you'd have to find that for yourself... But it's just a cut and paste to put the web link in an e-mail like this. Searched for (found) posts should have some sort of identification that can be re-entered by another person so they can find the specific post in the archives. The message number just before the .html part is a handy shorthand for it, since the rest of the format doesn't change, but for the sake of communications, you'd want to send somebody the full link. Now, if anyone can suggest another mechanism you can use to do the job, I'd be interested to hear it. Be well, Mike D. [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [mdev...@eskimo.com] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: mailto:silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com?subject=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/silver-list@eskimo.com/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: mailto:silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com List Owner: Mike Devour mailto:mdev...@eskimo.com
Re: CS[List Owner] Archive Etiquette
Well, that seems to fit the bill, once you understand it... Thanks, Dan On Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 10:05 AM, M. G. Devour mdev...@eskimo.com wrote: Dan writes: One problem is that after performing a search and finding the correct post, there appears to be no way to refer to that post so that others can go read it. The only thing I have found is to repeat the original search criteria. It's a web page, Dan, and has a unique URL that won't change in the future. The only way I know of to send it to the list or somebody else is to copy and paste that URL into a mail message: http://www.mail-archive.com/silver-list@eskimo.com/msg132370.html That's the link to your post in the archives. Now you might have the display of the URL window turned off in your browser... In Firefox, that's activated by clicking View Toolbars and making sure that Addres and Search is checkmarked. There are also several options in the right-click menu for the page that would give you access to the web page address. I haven't used MS Internet Explorer for years, so you'd have to find that for yourself... But it's just a cut and paste to put the web link in an e-mail like this. Searched for (found) posts should have some sort of identification that can be re-entered by another person so they can find the specific post in the archives. The message number just before the .html part is a handy shorthand for it, since the rest of the format doesn't change, but for the sake of communications, you'd want to send somebody the full link. Now, if anyone can suggest another mechanism you can use to do the job, I'd be interested to hear it. Be well, Mike D. [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [mdev...@eskimo.com ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: mailto:silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com?subject=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/silver-list@eskimo.com/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: mailto:silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com List Owner: Mike Devour mailto:mdev...@eskimo.com
CS[List Owner] Archive Etiquette
Hi folks, I've been meaning to post a message on how we use the archives when helping each other and new people. I imagine that most of you that have used them already, notice that search results can be all over the map. They're sorted, I think, by some measure of relevance. Whereas it might be nice to sort by date, subject, or sender as well, that is not an option at present. There are many ways to tweak and refine the search, but the syntax takes a bit of work to learn, and despite your best efforts, it can be tough to find exactly what you were looking for. I want you to keep this experience clearly in mind when you are tempted to suggest someone 'look in the archives' to answer a question. Even answering the simplest questions can become a nightmare search effort, especially when one doesn't know exactly what to look for. As a minimum, before telling them to make an archive search, please attempt it yourself -- and provide the search terms you found most useful. If it turns out to be more complicated than you thought, describe the steps you took, along with giving the relevant message links. Best of all, summarize and describe what you found, to give them a feel for the context *and* to add words to the archive that might aid other people's searches in the future. The idea here is, rather than send some poor soul off to assault the Great Wall of China with a teaspoon, instead give them a guided head start that lets them experience, first hand, bringing up the archive URL in their browser; typing search terms into the search box and hitting the button; and scrolling through and displaying the results to find what they need... Without having to figure it all out from scratch. I can imagine no better way to get them started learning how to help themselves! In the world of Linux geekdom, one of the worst forms of arrogance and hostility is expressed by the acronym, RTFM, which stands for Read The F***ing Manual. As an answer to a question, it is at best useless when you can't yet even find the right manual, let alone the right chapter or page. At worst, it's the kind of thoughtless and insulting response that drives people away for good. Please meet people where they're at. As you get better at using the archives, remember the learning curve you had to climb. Add in the ever present concern that someone might be stressed, fatigued, brain-fogged, in pain, or otherwise challenged by the health issues they're coming to us with, and it will be easier to remember why they might need a little more help than they ought to. I've been dreaming up a few suggestions to make to the archive folks to improve the interface, as well as thinking about how I can supplement the search facility via our own web pages. If you have ideas or suggestions based on your experience, please contribute them. Thank you for all the help and sharing that goes on here. You do good work, folks. Be well! Mike Devour siver-list owner [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [mdev...@eskimo.com] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: mailto:silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com?subject=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/silver-list@eskimo.com/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: mailto:silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com List Owner: Mike Devour mailto:mdev...@eskimo.com
Re: CS[List Owner] Archive Etiquette
Damn, It's guys like you, Odie, and Marshall that make me a better person (than I was)... Chuck Jeffrey Dahmers Cookbook: Shortcuts to becoming a Head Chef. On 2/28/2010 4:53:27 AM, M. G. Devour (mdev...@eskimo.com) wrote: Hi folks, I've been meaning to post a message on how we use the archives when helping each other and new people. I imagine that most of you that have used -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Rules and Instructions: http://www.silverlist.org Unsubscribe: mailto:silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com?subject=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/silver-list@eskimo.com/maillist.html Off-Topic discussions: mailto:silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com List Owner: Mike Devour mailto:mdev...@eskimo.com
