-----Original Message----- From: fedora-list-bounces@redhat.com [mailto:fedora-list-bounces@redhat.com] On Behalf Of Brian Gaynor Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 12:49 PM To: For users of Fedora Core releases Subject: RE: TOP POSTING
On Wed, 2005-03-30 at 10:46 -0600, Nix, Robert P. wrote:
MOVE ON! GET A LIFE! But most importantly... Get back to the topic of Linux, Fedora and open source. None of which has anything to do with top or bottom posting. The list is losing membership because of all this nonsense. That should be of much more concern to you than where I might enter my text.
What evidence do you have that this list is losing membership? I find it to be a tremendous resource, with many talented individuals giving freely of their time and expertise. The only wasting of bandwidth is from the idiots who, upon hearing of the preferred list behavior, have to argue as to why they just don't care.
The fact that I've seen several people say "Good bye", "this is crap, I'm leaving", etc. This list IS a tremendous resource. It is also a tremendous burdon when people get this far off topic, and refuse to let go. That's when people new to the list; people who just wanted some help with their system, throw up their arms and say "Enough of this crap: I don't need 50 e-mails about how to post which get me no closer to a running system; I'll just re-install Windows and be done with it."
The argument has two sides, and there can only be an argument if both sides participate. If you really feel so strongly about Top or Bottom posting, or html, or business mandated signature blocks, and have a problem with how someone posts, TAKE IT OFF THE LIST! Talk to the specific person directly. But don't make everyone else suffer through your argument. GO OFF THE LIST! Another precept of using a list is that you don't send personal messages on list; YOU TAKE IT OFF THE LIST. Everyone is so freakin' worried about the whole top posting issue that they've set aside all other manner of "rules" for list posting.
LET THIS DIE! TAKE IT OFF THE LIST! You ARE losing subscribers over something stupid and unnecessary. Again, JUST LET THIS DIE.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:02:02 -0600, Nix, Robert P. Nix.Robert@mayo.edu wrote:
[...]
Instead of getting all hot and flustered, learn to realize that nothing you write will make much of a difference. The simple fact is right now we are in limbo. FC4 is a ways off and FC3 is fine. In other words, this is the best use of our time. If someone really has a problem that hasn't already been solved before, we'll pay attention to it. Else, we are just going to carry in this thread as usual.
N. "Just Speaking for Me, Myself & I" Emile...
PS. Sorry Jef. I plagarized your .sig.
Just a tip - it helps if you Reply to messages in a thread, rather than create a new message and paste in the subject, as the Reply will include headers that help mail readers maintain the proper threading.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:02:02 -0600, Nix, Robert P. Nix.Robert@mayo.edu wrote:
LET THIS DIE! TAKE IT OFF THE LIST! You ARE losing subscribers over something stupid and unnecessary. Again, JUST LET THIS DIE.
I've not piped up in this discussion simply because it's not important to me, but this comment struck me. My personal take is that it's "stupid and unnecessary" to unsubscribe from the list over this conversation. I can't really drum up a lot of sympathy for someone that's offended by something they see on the Internet.
I think it's fairly obvious (to me at least) what kind of value this list provides. If someone is willing to give up on that value simply because the signal to noise ratio deteriorates for a few days, then more power to them. While I appreciate your concern that a resource you find valuable is being "abandoned" by some folks, I'd ask that you keep in mind that with the number of subscribers fedora-list has, there will be someone, somewhere, offended by something at any given moment. There will always be folks that are willing to throw up their hands in disgust at the slightest provocation, you're not going to be able to retain these people regardless.
I'm not terribly concerned that some people are choosing to leave the list. The folks leaving (as near as I can tell) are consumers of the information here. If the providers of the information were leaving in droves, then I might be concerned. The people leaving are basically "cutting off their noses to spite their faces" as my mother would put it. Anyway, these are simply my opinions.