Re: [Perfparse-devel-int] Support forum on sf.net

[Ben C. <BCl...@pe...>]

Yves,

The mailing lists are well established with good searchable html 
archives.  Ok, lets not drop those :)

I will delete the forums on sf.net.  We don't use them and they are slow 
and basic.  As soon as this user is happy.

The one problem I can see is posting a question to the news groups 
without subscription.  Anonymous email may not work if the user does not 
know where the answer will be seen.  Although currently possible.

I would like to consider a user forum in wiki a little further, as a 
second support mechanism.  Let me list (in no order) some reasons:

1 Keeps users close to FAQ and other helpful information.  They may see 
the answer before the 'dump post' we all hate making :)

2 Easy anonymous posting of a question.

3 Email alerts possible for the rest of us.  (Check, is this possible?)

4 Keeps posting/viewing/searching on the same server.

5 Ensure entire PP project in same look/feel, when style sheets agreed.

 > This is something we have to decide : how do we provide support ?
 > Because our support is free, we have to find a way not to spend too 
much time on it.

See point (1) and (4).  The user in search of an answer can access lots 
of information in same location.  Then they can post an anonymous 
question.

At the moment we are too disconnected.  The information may be on one of 
three web sites, or in an email archive.  This may lead to replication 
of information and confusion by users.

 > We have the mailing-list and the html archives. If you insist on 
html, the only missing
 > part is a form to send a mail to the mailing-list and say that the 
answer will probably
 > be in the archives :)

Totally agree.  One solution is a CGI program to accept a question, post 
it to our groups and send them to the archive.  But I can see two 
problems with this:

1 There is no mechanism to let them know of an answer.

2 It requires a http server which is not part of the archive http 
server, which is closed to us.  So you cannot link from the archive back 
to the question page.  So users viewing the archive will not know of 
this nice page we provide to add to the archive :)

Ben





Yves Mettier wrote:

>>Yves,
>>
>>
>>>Could you ask this user to post on perfparse-users ? (don't give an address on a forum
>>>:
>>>avoid spamming when possible)
>>
>>I have.  It seems this option is not one he want to consider.  Maybe he
>>doesn't want to be subscribed to a mailing list.  I personally have 500
>>  email a day from mailing lists.  Sometimes when somebody tells me to
>>join another, I want to tell them where to stick it :)
> 
> 
> I can understand.
> But it is probably worse when you have forums to follow too :)
> 
> 
> 
>>Maybe another reason to consider consolidation of four mailing groups
>>and the two (slow/dull) sf.net forums with our new (fast/cool) wiki system?
> 
> 
> We already have the sf.net archives, don't we ? :)
> Maybe you want to have everything at the same place ? That would mean a smtp->wiki
> system and I'm nearly sure that it is not a very good solution.
> I prefer our wiki for faqs and spec drafts, and our mailing-lists with archives.
> 
> 
>>User problems could be handled by a forum which does not send email,
>>accept in answer to a question.
> 
> 
> This is something we have to decide : how do we provide support ?
> Because our support is free, we have to find a way not to spend too much time on it.
> 
> 
>>If you were a new user/developer, what would be a nice balance of html
>>and smtp forums?
>>
>>Eg, Announce, probably best as smtp.  This group (perfparse-devel-int)
>>may be better as html?
> 
> 
> We have the mailing-list and the html archives. If you insist on html, the only missing
> part is a form to send a mail to the mailing-list and say that the answer will probably
> be in the archives :)
> 
> Yves