[Bf-committers] Reducing email overhead

[Matt Ebb]

On 09/01/2007, at 6:54 AM, jonathan ferguson wrote:

> I'm in favor of leaving the list as it stands. Please don't change  
> it. Here's why:

I'd also like to second every point that jonathan said.

There are many reasons why it's beneficial to have these sorts of  
discussions in a more 'permanent' medium like email. I can very  
easily find information in my email app via searching (and have used  
this for blender related things on many occasions), I have options to  
filter and sort messages, I can view a conversation by threads, I can  
easily skip messages I'm not interested in and the main thing - it's  
conducted more openly, allowing everyone to see and participate.

If the problem is there's so many mails that "not all mails are being  
read any more", then does it really solve the problem to 'remove'  
those mails from the mailing list so nobody can see them? There are  
many more people reading this list than actively posting, and it  
seems like a shame to not be harnessing that 'collective  
intelligence', where people could pop up and offer solutions or ideas  
that may not come up otherwise in a private conversation.

And also, is it really that much of a problem? When I wake up in the  
morning it takes me about 10 minutes or less to read all the 10 or so  
bf-committers mails that have been left during the night.

As I know I've ranted about before, I'd rather see more, not less, of  
this project happening on mediums like email rather than IRC, as it  
seems to be currently. IRC is:
* notorious for time-suckage and work interruptions
* involves many more hours of hanging around even when there may be  
nothing going on at the time
* far more susceptible to off-topic chitchat (far more than on the  
mailng list, which is mostly relevant)
* 'behind closed doors' and inaccessible to many people, making it  
hard for people to keep abreast of what is going on, and even harder  
to participate as part of a team

Compared with this, I think the drawbacks of open mailing lists don't  
look too bad...


cheers

Matt

------------------------------------------
Matt Ebb . matt at mke3.net . http://mke3.net



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