[gentoo-dev] Re: ML changes

[Duncan <1i5t5.duncan@cox.net>]

Will Briggs <will@burnieanglican.org.au> posted
4699D2A2.9010709@burnieanglican.org.au, excerpted below, on  Sun, 15 Jul
2007 17:54:10 +1000:

> At the moment gentoo-dev is a "one big noisy room" forum.  This is seen
> as a "problem"
> 
> Propose solutions have included:
> 
> 1) The "Let's divide up the room" solution - (and so we have proposals
> for gentoo-politics, gentoo-flamewar and other more "specialised" fora)
> 
> [snip 2]
> 
> The first doesn't work because it's well nigh impossible to enforce what
> is on or off topic.

Not really.  Basically, once we have -politics or whatever, if anyone 
says it's OT for -dev, I don't see the point in arguing it further here, 
just post there.  I've seen it work.  With a bit of cooperation, once one 
respected regular (basically dev, for our purposes) says it goes to the 
other list/group/room/whatever, none of the regulars reply any further.

The point is, once there's the other group/list to point to, it's not 
worth fighting over any longer, so even if a regular believes it 
actually /does/ belong in the "home" group/list, because there's another 
list/group and to maintain the common peace, that's it, it goes to the 
other list/group.  Very very seldom is it actually worth breaking the 
common peace and fighting over, and when there /is/ discussion, when 
someone /does/ go beyond the norm, it's generally handled privately, 
person-to-person, because the cost of breaking rank publicly is chaos, 
which benefits no one of the regulars, only deliberate trolls.

I'd really really like to have a go at it, to see if we /can/ make it 
work.  I think we can, and /if/ we can, it's clearly a superior solution 
to forced moderation or other "forced" measures.  Peer pressure /can/ 
work!

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman

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