From: Jeremy McAnally <jeremymcanally@...>
Date: 2006-12-20T07:15:46+09:00
Subject: Re: [OT] where have all the experienced users gone?

> There would be two lists: one newbies, and one "guru". Each message sent
> to one is also sent to the other, but with a tag: Like [NEWBIES] and [GURU].
> It has the advantage that the lists are not really split, and the choice
> is let to each one to choose if she wants to read or not the newbies or
> guru messages.
> I'm not sure it's really different from the standard two separate lists
> though...

Yeah, and you add an extra step into the sending process, and I'm not
sure if that would really work (especially if there would have to be
another layer of redirection like the current gateways).

Even so, I'm not really sure "guru" is the right tag for it; I think
that most people just want the "Where is tehRuby compiler?" and
"What's the best Ruby book?" questions off the talk list, since there
is really not much useful talk involved.  I think perhaps simply
maintaining the talk lists and providing a newbie list may be the best
solution (in my mind, at least).

Also, perhaps the Ruby lang site could offer a search box right there
on the mailing list page?  This could be for people who have a
question that has already been answered won't be tempted to join the
list just to ask.

--Jeremy

On 12/19/06, Julien Gaugaz <gaugaz@l3s.de> wrote:
>
> >>> This is why many times there will be "xxx-talk" (or "xxx-users") and
> >>> "xxx-newbie" lists.  I think perhaps Ruby has reached that "critical
> >>> mass" point where this split is in order (even though i'm sure this
> >>> has been discussed a number of times and decided against).
> >>
> >> I was on perl-beginners for years.  When I came to the Ruby community
> >> I asked for the equivalent, but many members felt it wasn't needed or
> >> even desired.  While I think I came around to their point of view
> >> over time, I'm not sure it still holds.
> >>
> >
> > In addition to the newbie/guru split, there is also the possibility of
> > a core/user split. The core list would be for discussions relating to
> > the current and future status of the Ruby language itself, the core
> > libraries, and more theoretical questions. The user list would be for
> > discussions about 3rd party libraries, installation problems, and
> > IDEs. =)
> >
> > This split has the benefit of not making anyone feel like a newb,
> > while still creating a separate area for hard core Rubyists to talk
> > about serious issues without all the noise.
> >
> > Tom
> I'm a newbie (to Ruby, and also to mailing lists somehow). What about
> the following:
> There would be two lists: one newbies, and one "guru". Each message sent
> to one is also sent to the other, but with a tag: Like [NEWBIES] and [GURU].
> It has the advantage that the lists are not really split, and the choice
> is let to each one to choose if she wants to read or not the newbies or
> guru messages.
> I'm not sure it's really different from the standard two separate lists
> though...
>
> Julien
>
>