NYCPHP Meetup

[deedee]

Hans,
i have been a quiet, proud member of nyphp.org since last year and i thought
i'd add my 2 cents to this topic for what its worth!

first, its a ugly job having to police human behavior - i manage a database
of technical troubleshooting tips at work and its a constant battle to keep
subject lines 'neat' and contributions 'clean' and so forth.   i think some
people just cant or wont follow basic instructions and guidelines. from this
technical group and others i am annoyed when people cant click on the
appropriate link for the simpliest task 'remove from list'.  i mutter
'moran' or some other colorful word and then i use my delete key! that's
probably where some tolerance kicks in for those of us that continue to hang
out.

 i replied once to someone who had accidently posted a php question to
nyphp-dev which prompted a gentle reminder of the list purpose from you...i
remember wondering how to get the thread redirected, so i just abandoned it
altogether!

guidelines for posts are fair and reasonable, select the police if its
necessary, gentle reminders are helpful to some and annoying to others.
encourage tolerance.

i have used forums before... the thread searchability is a nice feature but
again as many have mentioned my inquiry results are based on my ability to
articulate the technical verbage.  i use google, i cherish my 'bibles' and
reference manuals, i ask my friends and coworkers, i read the posts with
nyphp & other groups.... then if i get code working or have experience, i
share.  i have posted replies here when i noticed some basic research was
available, and possible overlooked.  ...i think it shows the diversity of
skill level of your members.

i joined an online group once that strictly used the word "off topic" when
posts werent within the designated guidelines, plus there was an automated
monthly pre-scripted message regarding the membership rules & guidelines...
once in a while the 'police force' posted "enough already" or helped steer
the group discussion... sometimes i had time to read those off topic posts.
the guideline reminder was helpful in the infancy of my membership. the
delete key or filtering is always the members option.

the recent question about bringing a bicycle to the meeting seemed important
to the attendee... i regret i dont live in the area to attend.  the question
seemed reasonable enough and i have enjoyed reading where you all are
heading for dinner or drinks and what train you might take.... but thats
because i find all you  'geeks' interesting. moving this type of discussion
to another location would make it less human, more technical.

lastly i have found on occasion, (yet rarely) posted questions are
unanswered...i have noticed its on or near the meeting dates - probably cuz
most of the focus is on the meeting etc.  again, its infrequent but it might
be something to be conscious of.

i trust your leadership on this so my vote is with you.
i hope if you do start another elite group you invite the current members
that have supported you from nearly the start!
keep up the good work!  ;)
respectfully,
deedee


P.S.   is this thread of discussion...'NYPHP List Reorganization?' or 'AMP
comments' ?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hans Zaunere" <hans at nyphp.org>
To: "NYPHP Talk" <talk at lists.nyphp.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 11:17 AM
Subject: Re: [nycphp-talk] AMP comments


>
>
> John Lacey wrote:
>
> >
> > Hans,
> >
> > Would a 'subject' guideline work?  For example, if I wanted to ask an
> > AMP question -- first word of the subject line would be:
> > PHP class question
> > php and XML feedback
> > MySQL problem with connects
> > Apache virtual host question
> > postgreSQL information
> >
> > etc...
> >
> > Then, perhaps a 'steering script' could direct the question/comment to
> > [AMP] list.  All subject lines that don't meet that criteria would be
> > directed to "talk".  It might also serve to remind people (if they are
> > programmers -- they should be thinking logically anyway :)  to give some
> > thought to their question/comment ala Eric Raymond's famous "How to ask
> > a question" document.  This could be stated as a simple policy for
> > posting to the lists.
>
> This is certainly something we ineveitably want to arrive at (ie, when we
finally have our own mailing list system finalized) but with Mailman now I'm
not sure it's doable.  For now, unfortunately, the best we could do would be
to add another list, and concisely define posting guidelines for it, with
Talk being the catch-all list.
>
> I've had mixed responses as to whether adding another list is good or not,
so I still don't know what to do.  Perhaps we should be totally democratic
about it and have a vote?
>
> H
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> talk mailing list
> talk at lists.nyphp.org
> http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>