Why Forums? What about the List?

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Lynn
Posts: 109
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:43 pm

Re: Why Forums? What about the List?

Post by Lynn » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:17 pm

Buttercup wrote:
Lynn wrote: a different kind of persistence that can be detrimental to both the company sponsoring it and also impede new users wanting to learn more.
Do I understand correctly that persistence is detrimental?

From whence came this product if not from persistence?

Diving under down comforters...

Judy
Not always but sometimes new users can get intimidated by a mailing list only situation. There's a strong cultural that develops on many long time lists - its the same on the Director list or the REALbasic list, for example.

A number of folks who frequent but dont regularly participate on the mailing list also mentioned this, and as you can see (assuming they will say something here now that here exists) I think you'll find a few people with voices who didnt talk as much on the mailing list.

Anyway, if you like both, then enjoy both :-) If you like one but not the other -- all the better, there are more choices.
Best regards,


Lynn Fredricks
Paradigma Software - Ultra Fast Database & Reporting Platform for LiveCode
http://www.paradigmasoft.com

marielle
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Post by marielle » Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:05 pm

[deleted, I am interested in helping users and discuss revolution's projects and initiatives, not in having words that intended to bring a conciliation used to start an escalate]
Last edited by marielle on Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:57 am, edited 4 times in total.

FourthWorld
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Post by FourthWorld » Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:15 pm

marielle wrote:Why offer to the newcommers in the runrev community a form of support different from the one you offer to your own clients?
You just don't lighten up do you?

There's a HUGE difference between having rational discussions about bugs and making sweeping accusations of moral decrepitude.

Sure, Rev has bugs. In fact, while the engine appears to have a fairly low bug density I've agreed with perceptions that the IDE's bug density may be higher than average (at a minimum, it's evidently higher than its audience will tolerate gracefully <g>).

Where things tend to go astray in just about any community is the moment absolutes are introduced (things like "NO software company should EVER ship with ANY bugs"). Absolutes tend to be wrong, and they are as unproductive as they are unsupportable. They just spark flames without constructive outcomes, and the need for flame retardant goes up if moralistic claims are brought into play.

Zero defects is an inspiring battle cry, but it doesn't make for a very practical operational target. So how many bugs are too many? That's where objective metrics like bug density (number of known bugs per thousand lines of code) become very useful; aiming for zero data-loss bugs and an industry average density for lesser bugs is a good place to start.

Being outside the company, I'll leave the fixing of bugs to RunRev. They say they work on the bugs most efficiently when they're entered in Bugzilla, so I pass that along to newcomers, encouraging folks to use what RunRev says is the most productive path to resolution.

Since I'm unable to actually fix Rev's bugs, you'll find a lot of my posts deal with ways of getting results in spite of them. Once the bug is logged there's little more any of us can do, and continuing to complain about it will neither fix the bug nor help the developer get results. This may seem to some like I'm glossing over the bug, but it's merely that I can't do anything about the bug but can probably help solve the problem.

It's very rare that a bug in Rev doesn't have at least one workaround, so those interested in results will appreciate moving past the bug to a solution.

Garrett
Posts: 386
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Post by Garrett » Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:49 pm

FourthWorld wrote:
Garrett wrote:Let's just simplify this and call it what it is. Mailing list tend to create
what's called the "Good Ol' Boy" club where certain users feel they have
the right to say and do as they wish on the mailing list.

The club develops into an almost religious cult, and if anyone disagrees
with them, they are crusified with a vengence.
If a new user shows up and declares that RunRev has somehow sold their collective soul to Satan because they ship before fixing every known issue, that user will receive an introduction to software development processes, regardless of venue.

Many new users for many years have raved about the list as a helpful resource.
LOL!

First off, this isn't about me. It's about the mailing list.

The fact that you immediately pick out only one of the things I brought
up on the mailing list kind of shows the mentality of how the list works.
And also by describing it with a colorful new description (less than
appropriate and also quite misleading) also adds to my statement about
the mailing list.

You fail to mention that I was not the one who initially started that thread
on the list, that it was someone else who was complaining about bugs
that have been in Rev for sometime. I agreed with that person and also
expressed my feelings and opinions regarding that subject.

Of course I was nailed to the cross immediately and then pelted with
rocks and sticks, and then left to die!

You also fail to mention the other new and or not so new users who post
something that is not positive are also crusified.

I have also mentioned, even after being crusified, that the people on the
list are very very helpful. I am not attacking individuals at all. I am
simply stating the obvious about the list.

On a personal side, since you used my situation as the example. Instead
of crusifying me, or attempting to brainwash me into the likes of those in
the club, it might have just been better to stay out of it, but that's not how
it went now is it. Instead of keeping it simple, those who participated felt
compelled to point out the errors of my way and explain in great length
of how I should think like them and accept it all as the defacto. Almost
like a religious cult of some sort... Convert to our ways or die!

Is that how it's suppose to be Richard? Or should we at least be allowed
to express our views and opinions without being hung?

Anyway, back to the topic

It's also a deterent when a new user to the mailing list gets hundreds of
emails in their box from the mailing list. Of which, 90% of that is
ego-chatter from members of the club. The list I believe was there for
people seeking help and to give help, not a forum for debating over who's
dung stinks the least, or who's nose is higher in the air than the other.

Honestly, mailing list are really kind of outdated now. Forums allow a
community to organize and focus better than a mailing list ever could.

And now users can rave about how the forum is a very helpful place.

-Garrett

Garrett
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Post by Garrett » Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:52 pm

Richard, This isn't about the "bugs" thread on the mailing list. It's about
how a mailing list can have a negative effect on a product and it's user
community, and how a forum can ease that negative effect.

Of course, the "bugs" thread is just one of many examples of the negative
effects of a mailing list.

-Garrett

FourthWorld
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Post by FourthWorld » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:20 am

Garrett wrote:The fact that you immediately pick out only one of the things I brought up on the mailing list kind of shows the mentality of how the list works.
And also by describing it with a colorful new description (less than
appropriate and also quite misleading) also adds to my statement about
the mailing list.
There were some very moralistic judgements in those early posts, worded in a manner almost as abrasive as your site's only product. Many people had a problem with it; I posted only one reply there out of the dozens it provoked.

Also, note that I mentioned no names here. I had no interest in discussing people, but language. Of all the posts this last weekend the moralistic slams against the company and the industry were among the clearer examples of why absolutes are conversationally problematic.

Your later posts were more balanced, and I agreed with them.

If you find a bug and could use a hand finding an alternate solution, I'm happy to help if I can. If your interest is in anything other than shipping software I won't be of much use to you.

Garrett wrote:It's also a deterent when a new user to the mailing list gets hundreds of emails in their box from the mailing list.
Agreed. Some prefer push (where it comes into the mail box), others prefer pull (where they actively retrieve messages), and now with these spiffy new forums they can choose the form they most prefer.

marielle
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Post by marielle » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:54 am

What about taking benefit from this "delete" feature and delete all posts starting from the one of Garrett denouncing past list behaviours. Garrett, any problem with that?

marielle
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Post by marielle » Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:58 pm

Garrett, are you the Garrett of Pricelessware where I can read thanks to Garrett for giving Pricelessware its logo identity. Cool website!

And then paraboliclogic. What a nice design and friendly website!

Jerry Muelver
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Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:19 am

Post by Jerry Muelver » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:01 pm

Oh, sure! Butter him up! Turn him onto his softie side! It'll take weeks for me to get Garrett back to his crusty, orthagonal self, and get any useful criticism out him now! :roll:

marielle
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Post by marielle » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:49 pm

Jerry Muelver wrote:Oh, sure! Butter him up! Turn him onto his softie side! It'll take weeks for me to get Garrett back to his crusty, orthagonal self, and get any useful criticism out him now! :roll:
:twisted: me! Ho... are you the Jerry Muelver of these nice LibertyBasic articles? :roll:

More seriously, Garrett, you and me are proponents of open source software. I have a project of an open gallery of revolution components. Interested in discussing how we could set this up efficiently?

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