[arch-general] Arch mailing list for subjective discussions

Whiskers catwheezel at operamail.com
Sat May 18 18:01:57 EDT 2013


On Sat, 18 May 2013 18:27:03 +0200 Ralf Mardorf
<ralf.mardorf at alice-dsl.net> wrote:

>Hallo,
>
>IMO the moderated Arch general list became a good list for technically
>issues and for briefly and succinctly objective discussions. This
>shouldn't change. First I didn't like it, but now I can see the
>advantages of such a list.
>
>What IMO is missing for Arch Linux is a separated mailing list for
>longer, subjective discussions. I'm aware that this is possible using
>the forums, but for my taste a mailing list is more comfortable to use.

Even more efficient and comfortable, a usenet newsgroup.  I /really/ don't
like the clunky sluggish and bloated things that web forums are.  Mailing
lists are better, but the combination of a newsgroup with a good
newsreader program (or even with a combined email+usenet client such as
'Thunderbird' or 'Claws Mail') is still more convenient.  The Arch
depositories include a good selection of usenet software.

>I wonder if there's an interest for such a mailing list and if somebody
>has got the knowledge and is willing to set up such a mailing list.

[...]

The infrastructure for newsgroups is very well established (it predates
the internet, but is of course accessed via the internet now).  Unless
'moderation' is required, no particular effort or commitment is required
from anyone once a new newsgroup has been 'created'.

Participants do have to set up their software to 'subscribe' to the new
newsgroup, but I don't think any Arch users would be daunted by that.
Some ISPs have ceased to include a usenet service, but there are plenty of
public news-servers to choose from, some of them free of charge, and
others very economical.  Usenet is 'plain text only' (apart from the
'binary groups' which are really something entirely different) and
inherently 'off-line', just as email is (although you can use 'on-line
mode' if you want to).

>What do you think about an additional mailing list for discussions that
>are OT for Arch generell?
>
>Regards,
>Ralf
>

I'd support a proposal for a new newsgroup, preferably in the
alt.os.linux hierarchy where there are already several distro-specific
groups.

I think some of the things currently discussed in Arch web forums would
benefit from being moved into newsgroups; discussion of the wonderful
web browser 'dwb' springs to mind, currently happening in the 'Community
Contributions' web forum and almost impossible to research.

-- 
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
--  Whiskers 
-- ~~~~~~~~~~


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