> I think there are two different use cases for a mailing list such as this, > and they're each better served by different access method; either email or > forums. > One use case is the individual with a long-term interest in a > project/technology. Because of the long-term interest, an email list > (which is a "push" technology - it comes to you) is ideal - you sign up > once, set up mail filtering, and then read at your leisure in the client > of your choice. > The other use case is people with a one-off question. "Why isn't this > query working?", "What's the SQLite function for XYZ?" etc. For me at > least, whenever I have had one of these in the past for a particular > technology, signing up to a mailing list is a chore. You sign up, wait for > the confirmation email, get spammed by tons of stuff you're not interested > in (you don't plan on being subscribed long enough to spend the time > setting up filters), then have to unsubscribe when you've got the answer, > and then confirm the unsubscription. > Then two months later you have another query and have to do the entire > process again. Personally I loathe going through this process for one-off > questions. > In this second use-case, a forum (being "pull" based - you get it when you > want it) is better. Sign-up, correspond, then forget about it. If there's > another question a few months later, you can login again using the old > credentials and continue where you left off. > > Unfortunately I don't think there's much forum/list software out there > that facilitates *both* use-cases. Google Groups tries to, but I've not > encountered anything else (not that I've gone looking). > I've seen some lists try and punt this "forum" component off to domain > specific stackexchange sub-sites, but that has it's own problem (splitting > the community between venues).
That leaves NetNews as the best compromise, just like it always has been, as you have described exactly the case for which it was invented. Unfortunately in these latter days, NetNews just isn't what it used to be. _______________________________________________ sqlite-users mailing list sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org http://mailinglists.sqlite.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sqlite-users
