[documentation] Proposal to deprecate the docs mailing list

[Joshua Brauer]

Comments below. I'm NOT a fan of the idea of deprecating the mailing  
list for the reasons below.

On Nov 20, 2008, at 4:42 PM, Addison Berry wrote:
>> [...]
>>
>> If we allowed membership and free posting on the g.d.o group, we
>> would:
>> - Still have email notifications of all discussions.

Notifications from g.d.o are a real mixed bag. First of all they are  
*notifications* which means I can't participate from email using the  
tools that provide the ability to create drafts, save drafts and  
can't, as in this example, easily note which part of something is  
being discussed. Having email fill up with notifications of yet  
another place to go look at information is sub-optimal and greatly  
increases (as it gets read twice) the work involved in participating.


>>
>> - Be able to use wiki posts to collaborate on one living document
>> rather than having to attach separate iterations to an issue in the
>> queue.

In short Wikis on g.d.o are broken. At the start of Summer of Code we  
talked a little about fixing it but there is a reason (that I don't  
recall) we were told no. In short a Wiki page with no editing history,  
which is what the vast majority of us see, is much worse than a  
threaded discussion or iterations being attached to an issue. A wiki  
page without history presents very little chance of understanding what  
the arguments for or against an issue were or how the decision was  
made. As it is Wikis on g.d.o make things opaque not transparent. The  
other thing with the wiki model when it does work, is there is very  
little place to really explain a change, or to propose a change and  
discuss without making it.

>>
>> - Read threads all on one page rather than have to page through the
>> mailman archive.

On the other hand it means going somewhere else to read the threads.  
On the other hand as it is now I can read the threads on one page in  
my email box. And I can effectively search and use the information in  
the same ways as other areas of the Drupal community. It's not a  
matter of "oh that's doc so it's on the web" but that other issue  
which was discussed was development so it's in email.



>>
>> - Organize and categorize discussions to make it easier to find
>> areas of interest.

I find the threading of mail much easier to follow. In a system with  
comments the branches of comments fork and frequently go in multiple  
directions. So there is much more scrolling, jumping and having to  
reply in multiple places to follow one thread.

>>
>> - Replying to old threads that you didn't actually receive in email
>> is clear and straightforward - just leave a new comment. (How to
>> respond to archived mail threads is not an apparent thing.)
>>
This is the only good point about the web in my opinion. But even this  
is marginal. If I'm new and I want to revisit a thread there is  
nothing wrong with opening a new email thread. If on the other hand I  
comment on a long-past web page few people are really likely to pay a  
lot of attention.

>> The only advantage that the mailing list provides that the group
>> does not, is the ability to reply to a thread directly from your
>> email. I feel that losing this feature is worth the advantages we
>> would gain by shifting to g.d.o. I feel that this is true for
>> actually collaborating as a team and to make it easier for new users
>> to join in.


I actually think this is the opposite. Many users on the web are very  
comfortable with email lists. Mailing lists are also much easier to  
lurk and get comfortable on. It's certainly *possible* to do this on a  
web page, but it takes effort. And if one has to consistently revisit  
the same wiki page to see what's changed even more so... However  
something that is in email makes it much easier to pick up wherever  
one is and read and even respond.

Oh and finally as a frequent flyer... g.d.o doesn't work nearly as  
well on a plane as email lists.

In sort my vote would be that the email list should remain the primary  
workspace and wiki pages, when appropriate, can serve a valuable  
purpose as a supplement.

Thanks,
Josh


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