Arnold: There is another option and that is OOOForums. This is the method used by most of the FOSS projects hosted by SourceForge.
There are some projects that do use mailing lists, but they are subscription only. This leaves us with: Subscription only mailing list and/or the use of fora. In either case, reading the FAQs and archives should be done prior to posting/subscribing. James McKenzie -----Original Message----- >From: Arnold Huzen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Jan 6, 2007 4:54 AM >To: users@openoffice.org >Subject: Re: [users] Forced Registration For This List (was Re: [users] Return >receipts) > >For the time being it is 3 to 1 in favour for another setup in this >discussion. > >The thing we need to sort out is how do we best serve the users of >OpenOffice. Generally people do not read FAQ's, do not read manuals. So >by forcing them to subscribe to a mailinglist with up to hundreds of >unwanted e-mails a day does not bring them the support they want. > >The mailinglist is a good thing to bring all the questions to the users >that committed themselves voluntarily to answering questions of others, >but is not good for people that just want an answer to their question. > >That is the only reason why we should be looking for something more >useful than the mailinglist. It's the customer satisfaction that we must >search for in the first place. > >The Wiki-way Harold suggested might be a very good option. It will take >a moderators or content managers to decide what goes to the wiki and >what doesn't. > >Arnold Huzen > > > >Harold Fuchs schreef: >> On Saturday, January 06, 2007 3:05 AM [GMT+1=CET], James Mckenzie >> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> <snip> >>> I know your opinion on this. Commercial products do not allow >>> open posting of messages to them. You are forced to go through >>> the FAQs and possibly more. This is what our 'users' should go >>> through. >>> Also, the Readme makes it look like this is a commercial help desk, >>> not a group of volunteers that support this product. >> <snip> >> Nobody is ever forced to read the FAQs. Same as nobody is ever forced >> to read the EULA. Clicking "accept" doesn't imply (other than possibly >> in a formal, narrow legal sense) that I've read the document. >> >> We are talking at cross purposes. You are still talking mail list. I >> am really talking web forum. >> >> I never mentioned "open posting ..." I said that we should require to >> authenticate the user's mail address and then only e-mail him/her when >> someone reponds to his/her specific question. This avoids the garbage >> a truly "registered" mail list generates. >> >> I don't have any issue with re-writning the Readme. Excellent plan. >> ********* >> >>> I work with many products. Some are as large as Oracle (yes I am an >>> Oracle DBA of sorts) to little products that cost $9.95. All of them >>> require >>> that you register and not only to get your e-mail address, but in some >>> cases to make sure that you are a legitimate user of their product. >>> We have a registration form too and it is in the product. >> Again, registration is fine; I don't have a problem with it. I do have >> a problem with registering for something that is going to generate >> hundreds of irrelevant e-mails a day. Actually, if I were a newbie >> asking an OOo question and was forced to register, I would seriously >> regard all OOo messages that didn't address my question as Spam. I'd >> be *very* cross to have to plough through dozens of *unsolicited* >> (ergo Spam) explanations of how to upgrade X11 on the Mac I don't own >> and don't have any intention of ever owning. >> *********** >> >> <snip> >>> You can filter mail any way you like. However, it does get rather >>> tedious >>> to see the same stuff in messages, time and time again like "Please >>> respond >>> to [EMAIL PROTECTED]'. This is a MAILING LIST.... >> I didn't mean mail filtering. I meant letting the web forum categorise >> stuff and then letting the users "subscribe" to any/all of those >> categories. >> Again, for a fully registered system, a mail list is inappropriate so >> filtering it is irrelevant. >> ********** >> >> <snip> >>> Web forums already exist and one was shut down for the Mac. There is >>> a reason >>> that mail lists exist. However, this list is abused and some folks >>> from SUN have even shut down their subscriptions because of it. >> The list is abused. It's the nature of mail lists to be abused. Why >> was the Mac forum shut down? What is the reason for mail lists? >> >> OOo is the only product I know that is supported by a mail *list*. >> Other products for which you can get help via e-mail don't let you see >> e-mail traffic other than yours (you might be able to searcg/browse >> the archives but the messages aren't *pushed* at you like OOo's e-mail >> is). That's not a "list" in the sense we mean it. I too have worked >> for many years in product support. That was done by e-mail and phone >> because it was a long time before the web. But nobody saw answers to >> anybody else's questions unless an answer was explicitly forwarded for >> some reason. >> ********** >> >>> I am and will be for subscription to this list only after reviewing >>> the FAQs. This is the best compromise and will allow us to help >>> those with problems that they >>> cannot solve by reading through the user guide or in the FAQs. >> You can't force people to read the FAQs. They will still send "dumb" >> questions. The only choice then is to be rude and say "go read the >> *&^$! FAQs" We *might* be able to cut down the number of "dumb" >> questions by re-writing the documentation *including* the FAQs (is the >> thing about X11/Mac in the FAQs? What about starting Calc/Impress/... >> on a Mac?) and by making them prominent on the support and download >> pages. But forcing people to read about esoteric Linux issues (like >> sending mail doesn't work) when they want to know something relatively >> trivial about Windows Writer is still not the way to go. >> >> I hate FAQs. They are nearly always condescending; frequently >> sententious, pi canting nonsense; usually trivial and more often than >> not don't have the answer to my question or, if they do, it is to be >> found under some heading that I never thought of. >> >> If you really want to do FAQs, do them as a Wiki so they can be easily >> updated with new issues like X11/Mac. It is easy to control who can >> edit your Wiki so it's not a free-for-all. >> ************ >> >>> It can also help us have enough time to improve documentation for >>> this product >>> to that of those commercial books that are written for and cost a >>> great deal >>> of money (I've seen what is basically an improved user's guide >>> selling for about >>> the equivelent of 15 pounds here in the U.S.) >> No arguments with this bit ;-) >> >> Regards, Harold >> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
