From: James Britt <jamesUNDERBARb@...>
Date: 2004-09-07T10:04:02+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby-Nuby forum

Alexey Verkhovsky wrote:

> Dear fellow ruby-talkers,
> 
> I卒d like to put forward an idea to create a forum for newcomers to Ruby.
> 

I think your intentions are notable, and I'm always glad to see someone 
take initiative in spreading the word and helping people out.  But I 
believe this may be a mistake.

In the past (and, yes, things change), when there was discussion here on 
creating a new mailing list for one thing or another, the general 
consensus was that a) many people who have only a tangential interest 
will not want to be bothered tracking yet another list, and b) most 
topics often end up touching on items of interest to the community as a 
whole, so they might as well happen here.  Exceptions tend to be lists 
or forums devoted to specific applications or segments of development, 
such as the REXML or the ruby-doc lists.

My concern is that a Nuby forum will be frequented by Nubies, but not 
the old hands who are the best ones to answer questions and  guide 
newcomers on style, technique, development rationale, and so on.

A web site that focused on providing Ruby newcomer resources would be 
great but, ultimately, people learning Ruby have to simply learn to 
speak up here.

But this sort of community segmentation *might* lead to a Nuby ghetto.

James