Re: [tdf-discuss] unsubscribed posters

[Barbara Duprey <Barb@onr.com>]

 On 10/17/2010 12:54 PM, Charles Marcus wrote:
> On 2010-10-16 5:00 PM, Barbara Duprey wrote:
> > No, because so often they get overwhelmed by the list volume.
> Mailman has the concept of 'umbrella' lists...
>
> Maybe we could create 'micro' lists - say, one for Writer, one for Calc,
> one for Impress, etc - then make the 'discuss' and 'users' lists parent
> lists (or is it vice versa? - I don't use them so not sure of the
> relationships)...
>
> The way it would work is, if someone only has a quick questions about
> Writer, they ask there. People on the Writer list only see
> questions/answers about Writer, and people on the discuss/users lists
> see questions about all of them.
>
> When someone subscribes, they could then simply check boxes next to the
> lists/topics they are interested in, and wouldn't need to know they are
> actually subscribing to separate lists.
>
> I do know that the users/discuss lists volume is way too heavy for an
> 'average user' to get any benefit from. For example, since checking my
> email last on Friday evening, there have been 150+ new messages to this
> list... this would simply terrify anyone who subbed for a simple answer
> to a simple question.

This kind of breakdown into functional groups is what the forums do -- you might want to check that 
and see how many have "sprouted" from the two principal forum bases. It definitely has its place, 
but unfortunately many of the folks who appear on the lists (subscribed or not) are really not aware 
of the component they're using (though they might recognize "text document" or "spreadsheet," for 
example. Also, many questions cross over the boundaries in any reasonably compact list. And they've 
first got to be willing to subscribe before they get to make this choice, which is a sticking point 
for some people who just want an answer to the single question they've thought of so far. They 
regard subscribing as a level of commitment they're not prepared to make. That's not to say there's 
no merit in this, though. I think we'll be setting up a wiki page where we can play around with some 
of these ideas.

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