[pmwiki-users] PmWiki forum...

[marc]

Kathryn Andersen said...
> On Sun, Mar 18, 2007 at 12:05:49AM -0400, The Editor wrote:
> > 3) The lousy quality of the FAQ page is no proof the mailing list
> > works.  It's just proof we have a lousy FAQ system.
> 
> > The fact we frequently get asked the same questions on the mailing
> > list is probably better proof the mailing list doesn't work.
> 
> No, you have that backwards.
> 
> > I've tried the archives many times.  They don't work for me.  It's
> > hard to find stuff.  PmWiki can and should do better.  Much better.
> 
> Me, I've found the archives and found them helpful.  YMMV.
> 
> > 4) While the cookbook helps some it is itself getting a bit unweildy.
> > Pm has been slowly making some good changes in this area, but I have
> > thought for a long time we need to start categorizing the information
> > there.  Perhaps a section for recipe scripts, a section for config
> > questions, one for markup issues. Rankings, culling out stuff not
> > maintained, whatever. Information is only as good as its taxonomy.
> > Well, I don't know.  Sounded good.  But effective classification helps
> > alot.  The cookbook (IMO) is far over extended, and would be much
> > better if it stuck to specific kinds of solutions, etc.
> 
> There does need to be refactoring -- but I don't see any volunteers
> stepping up for this.  Perhaps partly because it's such a massive change
> that nobody feels they have the authority to do it (except for PM, and
> he's got better things to do at the moment).
> 
> The chief problem that I see is that we need to make the required
> information *easy to find*.  But what *are* the best ways of grouping
> the information?
> 
> That and more tutorial-like pages, which is what started off this
> discussion in the first place.
>  
> > 5) The idea a wiki is better than a forum is also nonsense.  If you
> > read my post, I suggested we do one in PmWiki.  We can keep it as
> > editable as we want, so if info needs to be changed, you just change
> > it.  Delete a thread.  Add a comment.  Whatever you want.  With all
> > the bright thinkers on this list we should be able to come up with
> > something!
> 
> Strong words there!  I dare you to justify this bald assertion.
> You say that we haven't proven that the mailing list is good, well, you
> haven't proven in any way that a forum is good.
> 
> So far as I can see, all a forum is is a lame kind of web-based mailing
> list which is harder to use.  I cannot see *any* benefit from a forum.
> What makes a forum better-organized than a wiki?  The same amount of
> discipline is required (so far as I can see) to make a forum
> well-organized as it takes to make a wiki well-organized.
> In all cases, the difficulty is in taxonomy and grouping pages/threads
> in a way that makes the right page/thread easy to find.

I agree with what Kathryn has said. And I'd like to add that there are 
plenty of us not using email, but instead use usenet (via gmane).

The point was made eloquently earlier in the thread that forums are good 
for conversations and poor for reaching conclusions. I suspect many of 
us have been around this loop.

Oh! And I almost always read usenet off-line - often on planes and in 
airports - so I'd be forced to always fly first or business class on 
airlines providing online access and laptop power. (Just demonstrating 
that the use cases for an email list are many.)
 
-- 
Cheers,
Marc