[mb-users] A ML... and a forum!?

[Frederic Da Vitoria]

2006/12/7, teknojnky <teknojnky at hotmail.com>:
>
> > I think you can't compare mailing lists and web forums this way. They are
> > different kind of medium. Both are good solutions, but for different
> > problems.
>
> Agreed
>
> > I can't imagine people doing serious discussion on forums,
>
> Disagreed. There are an infinite number of forums where 'serious' discussion
> does take place.
>
> That said, for 'serious', structured and disciplined discussion to take
> place, you do need an actively monitored, moderated and maintained medium
> (regardless if forum/list). Otherwise you typically end up with people
> ranting and raving and driving away rational discussion.
>
> > and at the same time
> > I can't imagine MB newbies asking questions why this and that doesn't work
> > on
> > mailing lists. No-subscribe-MLs would help in this, but I'm not sure how
> > much
> > would be people not used to mailing lists able to keep addresses in CC,
> > etc.
>
> Of all the mailing lists I've ever subscribed, there are only 2 that were
> 'discussion' lists, and one has been dead for 6+ months (mud-dev).
> Everything else was some sort of announcement list.
>
> I've been around since 300 baud coupler modems and BBS's, and early
> internet. Mailing lists had their day (along with UUCP and GOPHER).
>
> Those days are over.
>
> And if MB and the MB community wants to join the rest of the world, then we
> need to use a communication medium that the rest of the world uses.
>
> In my not so humble opinion, mailing lists should be reserved for
> announcement type notifications only. Everything else should be in a
> structured (and moderated where necessary) forum.
>
> This is just my opinion.

I think we both understand it is not mine :-)

I don't think conforming to the general trend is necessary or even
desirable. What is important IMO is pragmatism.

What is MB about? Users collaborating to update musical data (I
believe a native english speaker could say this better). Users. USERS.
So if enough MB users want forums, let's have them. Which we did. If
enough MB users want mailing lists, let's keep them. Which I hope we
will. Following the technological trend is not pertinent IMO. At least
not in the communications between us (but I am glad the MB web site
does not look like web sites used to 10 years ago!).

If we remove mailing lists or if there is no communication between the
two and style changes are discussed only in the forums, I will not be
warned of changes. Which will mean that my edits will be voted down,
and I will stop participating because I won't understand the rules
anymore or I won't be willing to comply to rules about which I did not
discuss.

I know I won't take the time to go check the forums. I did not do so
since they opened (although I did subscribe), and I almost never went
on any of the numerous other forums which I know of. To me forums are
good when you have a precise answer to seek. You browse the forum to
check if the answer is already there and if not, you post your
question and you monitor the answers.

But in MB, most of the discussions I participate in were not started
by me. The problem is that there are too many things changing all the
time and I need to be notified of what is going on. And the only way
to do this is to get a mail in my mail box.

If I were the only one working this way, MB would lose only one user,
no big deal. But I believe there are a few others that think like me.
Are there enough active MB users that MB can afford losing some of
them for the sake of some technological faith?

-- 
Frederic Da Vitoria